And Time Stood Still
by Araya-Michiru
Summary: Even men of steel have hearts of glass Piotr & OC centered with some other pairs on the side
1. Light and Dark

**Chapter Notes:** This is my first fic, at least here, and I've only recently gotten into the show and I've been trying to get it all figured out. So I hope nothing here contradicts, but I'm basically running on my own timeline. The fic is Piotr/OC centered, but I hope that does not deter people from reading. So I hope you all enjoy and reviews are welcome.

**Summary:** Even men of steel can have hearts of glass.

^_^

~AM

**Chapter 1: Dark and Light**

She awoke once more to the dark silence of her prison. All concepts of night and day had been lost on her all those years ago, even the exact number of years was unknown. Time would be nearly non-existent if it weren't dragging on forever, as it seemed to do. She sighed and pulled the paper-thin blanket over her having lost it in her sleep. She hadn't left the small room in days, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but was thankful that there had been no more tests, no more experiments in the last couple weeks. The room consisted of little more than a bed, desk and chair, a simple lamp, an old television, and a conjoined bathroom. She shivered again and sat up slightly, her movement limited. 

She always wondered what life would be like outside of this metal caged world. Magneto always spoke of intolerance, suffering and pain for all mutants in the human world. She used to not believe him but after a little while, hope had escaped her and she had resigned her fate to being nothing more than a test rat for whatever he had planned. Magneto always spoke of unlocking her powers, but he had never even told her what they were, for all she knew she was normal, but he knew otherwise. 

She heard movement outside the door, which was not unusual; there had been a lot of that lately. "More so than usual," she thought. She hadn't had any visitors either, minus Sabretooth, he still brought her food, but he wasn't one for conversation. She had met a few of the others, there was his son, Pietro, whom had been by often when he was young, but in recent years he had stopped coming by. That blue woman, who she rather detested, as well as a frog like one and a couple others whom she had heard of but never met. There had been a couple additions to the group as she had learned but none had she ever seen, except one who she had teased about being Mr. Universe and just remembered him blushing, but never speaking a word. 

The lock turned and light seeped into the room, she shielded her eyes not accustomed to the brightness. A rather large figure blocked the light, "Hey Mr. Universe," she teased. She heard a small chuckle before he moved into the room and picked her up. 

"What's on the agenda today? Blood? MRI's? Injections of the unknown?" she joked. She didn't know what it was about him, but she felt comfortable cracking jokes or trying to make conversation. She never spoke to the others like this, but they had been here longer, they were more hardened, but this man had some light to him that she could sense that had yet been put out. 

"Magneto has himself a new toy," he told her, though he was hardly trying to make a joke. In fact, it hurt him to be the one bringing her to such a device, one Magneto had said would clearly be a painful ordeal. He heard her sigh and rest her head against his chest. Magneto had gone to some extremes to keep her under his control, namely pieces of metal just under her skin, the freshest along her back limiting her movement until they were healed. 

"So how's the weather?"

He looked down at her, her eyes were closed and she looked like she could go right back to sleep. 

"Its nice out, sunny and clear," he told her. 

She smiled sadly, "Maybe one day I'll get to see it again."

He tightened his grip a little bit, "Maybe it can be arranged," he said thoughtfully. She looked up slightly to see if he was kidding or not, his face was emotionless, but his eyes said he was truthful. She smiled at him and returned to looking around.

"Never gone this way before that I can remember," she said thinking aloud. 

"Magneto has been working on this for quite sometime, I warn you though," he said taking on a serious tone, "its not going to be fun." 

She nodded in response, "It never is."

They emerged in a large room; she involuntarily cringed at the sight of his newest contraption.

"You're right, it sure doesn't look fun," she whispered. Magneto emerged from one side, ready for his newest attempt to unlock her powers. 

"Put her in the machine, then lock it up and take your place," he ordered. Piotr nodded and moved forward, placing her into the chamber, a chair waiting for her. He gave her a sad smile before turning and leaving the chamber and locking it up, then moving to his place beside Magneto. She watched him flip switches and check readings. There was a slight whirring and she figured it was allowing air to enter into the chamber, "I hope its letting air into here, I don't see how its gonna get in any other way," she thought. She heard a slight cackling sound of a speaker, yet she couldn't make out one. 

"Ready my dear? This is going to be a rough ride," Magneto spoke.

"What else is new, maybe after this you'll actually tell me what I can do, or have you just been doing all this for show cause maybe you're wrong and I don't actually have any powers, but you just don't want to admit it," she joked. He grew silent and before she knew what hit her, it felt as if thousands of pins were being poked into her body, seeping under her skin and attempting to reach her very soul. She screamed in sheer pain the metal under her skin gathering more pain than the rest. 

Outside Magneto stood still waiting and watching, ignoring her screams of agony. Beside him, Piotr did everything in his power to not run over there and stop it all. Even the strongest men can have a soft heart. 

"Sir, how long does this last?" he finally asked. "Another minute is all it should take, this machine will help her powers surface, they should've years ago, but something is holding hers back," he said. The machine powered down slowly until it was quiet. "Get her out, I need to get some blood then take her back to her room," Magneto ordered. Piotr followed his orders, as soon as the blood was drawn he carried her too her room. As soon as he was sure Magneto was occupied he reentered with a first aid kit, a clean towel and one of his t-shirts. 

She didn't speak, but her eyes would flicker open now and then and follow him around. She couldn't move an inch; every millimeter of her body was on fire and in pain. 

"Um...forgive me," he said a bright blush across his face as he undressed her and placed her in the small tub. He cleaned her up and slipped his t-shirt over her head, the large shirt practically a dress, falling just short of her knees. 

He slipped her back in bed, "I'm sorry," he whispered pulling the sheet up over her then quietly left the room.


	2. Escape from Pain

**Chapter Notes:** Thank you to those who reviewed, I appreciate it. [Individual reviewers will be acknowledged at the end of the story.] If things appear vague in the beginning, I'm doing that on purpose, important matters will be revealed in later chapters. 

And as a question, I'm trying to figure how old Piotr is in the show, I saw him, but I'm not sure, and I can't find out anywhere I've looked. So if you know or know where I can look, please let me know.

**Dislcaimer:** [Forgot this on the last chapter.] I state from here on in that I do not own or have any connection to X-Men: Evolution, Marvel or any of its creations. I'm just doing this for fun…but if you'd like to hand over Kurt and Piotr, it'd be much appreciated. ^_~

Enjoy!

^_^

~AM

Chapter 2: Escape from Pain 

Days, weeks, a month perhaps… She couldn't figure how much time had elapsed. Every time she felt she had even recovered in the slightest from one of her sessions in that contraption of Magneto's, she was thrown right back in. He claimed she was making progress, slow but progress nonetheless. She couldn't even recall the last time she had made it out of bed on her own. Her one saving grace had been Piotr, he had been coming down constantly, behind Magneto's back of course, to take care of her and make sure she was getting better. Food, clothes, bandages… anything she needed he brought it for her. He was constantly apologizing, it was the only thing that bothered her, she knew it wasn't his fault but he felt guilty. It had been a few days; she figured she was due for another session soon. Piotr hadn't come down at all the day before, which was usual before a session. It meant Magneto was down in the lab, toiling away at whatever tests he was doing. She shuddered, she'd rather not think about it. 

She turned on the television, it was old, the picture fuzzy, the sound constantly going, plus it only received the basic channels. Over the years though, it had become her companion, her window to the world. She knew of other mutants out there, she'd seen them on the news, she'd also seen Magneto and all the trouble his lackey's had caused. Constant reports of destruction around the high school where she knew the younger boys attended and around the town as well were easily linked towards them, at least those who knew them. Flipping through the channels she caught the news, the small clock telling her it was eight a.m. 

"Magneto will want to play soon," she mumbled.

"He plans on another session later this afternoon," a voice said from the doorway.

"Piotr, I didn't even hear you come in, which is surprising," she told him. He chuckled lightly.

"What're you doing here this early?" she asked. He poked his head out the door making sure no one was around before closing it and pulling the chair over next to the bed. "Magneto and Mystique had an errand to run so I snuck down while they weren't around, he doesn't plan on returning until early afternoon," he explained. "What, do you want me to leave?" he asked, making to get up. She grabbed his hand and stopped him, "I think I've been too bad of an influence on you, you're starting to joke around almost as much as me."

He smiled, "How do you feel today?"

"The same way I feel everyday, unless that is you brought me something," she hinted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few round orange pills, "My savior," she cooed, while he went and filled a cup up with water. 

"Enjoy it, it won't be so pleasant soon," he said sadly.  She took the cup and swallowed the pills easily. 

"Piotr, sit," she waited for him to do so then took his hand, "I don't want you to feel bad, if anything this experience, while utterly painful, has turned out to be one of the better parts of my time here," she told him. He appeared confused, thinking over what she had said, "I don't understand," he confessed. 

She smiled and held his hand tighter, "If none of this had happened, I wouldn't have you to keep me company. Do you know how boring it gets down here? Do you know how many episodes of practically any show I can recite? I mean a decent television wouldn't kill them, but I'll take real interaction over watching every TV Special known to man kind any day," she said with such sincerity that he could do nothing but move to the bed and hug her. It seemed like the only thing he could think of at the time, but it affected the both of them more than they thought it would. 

Her shaking shoulders alerted him to something wrong, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking I forgot about your injury's, if I was overstepping boundaries I'm sorry," he said letting go. Her fists clinging tightly to his shirt halted his actions, "No, don't, I'm just, I can't remember the last time anyone hugged me," she told him. 'She wasn't in pain, she was crying,' he realized. He put his arms back and held her until her shaking stopped. When he was sure she had calmed down he spoke, "You hungry, I saved some breakfast, I'll go up and get it for you," he said getting up.

"Piotr?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think this once, I can come up there?"

"Another time, but I promise one day, when I can be absolutely sure no one is around, I will bring you up."

She was disappointed, but she nodded in understanding and sat and waited while he went and fetched her breakfast. 

He sat with her while she ate and after a little more time left for the rest of the day. She knew she would see him later that night, Magneto had been putting him to use lately. She sighed, 'It felt so nice to be held, and not on my way to some killer machine for once." She shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned the TV on letting her mind wander. 

                                                                                                                        *

It was getting late; Piotr hadn't brought her any more food that day, Magneto had forbade anyone from feeding her before the sessions. She didn't mind though, she'd rather not go through that again, 'I prefer my food staying in my stomach,' she thought. She checked the time and found it to be nearly seven. Piotr hadn't told her exactly when the session would be, just that it was going to be late. She figured anytime soon she would see him, Magneto was sure to have returned by now. Sure enough, only a half hour later the door creaked open…but it wasn't Piotr. 

"Get up girl, Magneto wants you," a feminine voice ordered. 'Mystique…just my luck, she doesn't really expect me to get up and walk does she?'

"I said get up! Magneto does not want to be kept waiting," she yelled.

"I don't see how I'm supposed to when he's pretty much made it so I can't walk on my own," she retorted. Mystique merely got an annoyed look on her face before walking over and grabbing her by the wrist. 

"I'm not your little boy toy, do not expect any coddling from me girl," she sneered. Her eyes went wide.

"Yes, we know he's been sneaking down here, I assure you Magneto is none too pleased."

"What have you done to Piotr?" she asked scared.

"Nothing to severe, he is a tough one after all, it'll take a lot more than a simple beating by Magneto to stop him," she told her. "Now get up," she said pulling the girl out of the bed. She cringed as her body met the floor; Mystique pulled her to her feet and pushed her towards the door. "Start walking."

She managed to grab the door before going down and using the wall made her way to Magneto's lab. 

Magneto saw her stumble in, Mystique not to far behind, "Get her in the machine, I haven't got all night," he ordered. Mystique shoved her in and she sat, knowing what would come next. The speaker crackled, "Due to certain circumstances, I've decided that we're going to try and speed up the process. Instead of every few days, you will be doing this every other day and for a longer period of time. Its your own fault really, but I can't have you fraternizing with my employees, as soon as your powers emerge you will be moved to another location, understood?" 

She closed her eyes; all this because someone had actually bothered to be nice to her, and now the two of them would both suffer the consequences. She only hoped Piotr was all right. She had resigned her fate a long time ago, but him, he had the chance to escape, he was strong he could get out of here if he wanted. She always wondered what held him back, but had felt it was too forward to ask. She felt her hair stand on ends, the same feeling she always got before the pain came, she bowed her head and prayed to whatever higher power there may be that she'd get through this, and that she'd get to see him, at least once more. 

                                                                                                                        *

Sitting in his room, Piotr looked up at the ceiling as the lights dimmed and then returned. He knew what that meant, Magneto had turned on his machine and she was down there with him. He couldn't believe that they had found out, he hadn't known about the cameras down there, or that they'd been watching him for the last week. Magneto had confronted him, and while he may be twice the mans size, in his mutant form, Magneto had the upper hand. Piotr's body was strong though, he had felt the blows as Magneto had smashed him into every wall possible, but it wasn't enough damage to worry about. 'If anything the walls were worse off' he thought. He realized it had been a few minutes now and that the power hadn't fluctuated again, 'Its still running, its only supposed to be a minute though.' He lowered his head, perhaps this was her punishment, she didn't deserve one though. It was his choice to go down there, why had he gone down there? If he had minded his own business none of this would have happened. But he couldn't help it, to him she looked so fragile, she was someone who needed to be protected and taken care of. Under any other circumstances, he'd think otherwise, underneath it all she was strong, if only her powers had developed. 'Then she'd probably be able to stop him,' he thought. Her life would be so much better if she weren't here, she deserves to have her freedom.  The lights flickered once more before returning to normal. In that brief moment, he made his decision. 

                                                                                                                        *

It was two days before he managed to get out of his room and down to her's undetected. Magneto and Mystique as well as many of their guards had left on a mission, supposedly a new recruit but he wasn't sure. It was just the distraction he needed though. He gathered up the few things he would need, he had nothing personal minus a few things he had managed to get a hold on during his stay. He went into a closet and rummaged through finding a trench coat, 'Most likely Mystique's, hope she won't miss it,' he thought. He raided the laundry room, managing to find a clean shirt and a pair of sweats that would fit her. He wasn't prepared to see what he found in her room. She lay haphazardly across her bed, as if just dumped there. Every inch of her was filthy, blood, sweat and tears a sign of her struggles. He picked her up and brought her into the bathroom, getting her clean and applying fresh bandages. He got her into the clothes and slipped the coat on her, tying it closed. He grabbed a few things from her room and put them in the bag with his. He gingerly picked her up and carried her out. Sure that no one was around he slipped out of one of the hidden entrances to the lab, going through passages until he reached the final door. With a kick it flew open and he blinked at the bright sunlight for a moment. He started walking through the woods. He had planned on making it to the bus station, but from there he wasn't too sure. There was only one place he could think of to take her, "Somehow, I have a feeling I'm going to regret this."


	3. My Angel

Chapter Notes: I'm not very happy with ff.net… I uploaded the previous chapter one night but didn't see it on the site for almost three days, and when I did find it, it was on like the fourth or fifth page, so I doubt many people actually saw that the story had been updated. So I hope this one is better… Hope you enjoy and reviews are most appreciated. 

^_^

~AM

Chapter 3: 'My Angel' 

"Next!"

"Two tickets to Bayville please," he asked pulling some bills out of his pocket. The man behind the glass fiddled with the computer for a moment before the tickets popped out, he handed them to Piotr and he handed over the money. He didn't really have much, enough to get them there and maybe food but that was it. He looked up at the departure/arrival sign and saw that he still had another twenty minutes before the bus would leave, he figured about another five minutes before boarding. He returned to the corner of the station where he had placed her on the bench to sleep.

 It had been an interesting sight, him carrying her into the station, people seemed worried a couple even asked. He had fibbed, explaining that she had been involved in an accident not too long ago and that she tired easily and was unstable on her feet. He was taking her to a place to help her, and they bought it. Piotr sat down next to her and stroked her hair waiting for the bus.

He really had no idea why he was taking her to the Institute, but it seemed like the best idea at the time. He didn't know anyone else who would help them so readily, Professor Xavier could help her discover her powers on her own, no machines, no pain. He didn't know what he would do though. Other than taking her there he hadn't really planned on staying, he couldn't go back to Magneto that was for sure, not that he would want to anyways. 

The announcement came for them to begin boarding and he picked her and their stuff up and made his way to the bus. He took a seat up front, putting her on the window side and stuffing their bags overhead. No one else was on the bus yet, the driver stood outside waiting for people with bags to load underneath. In the end the bus was only a quarter full as they made their way towards Bayville. The ride would take some time, but he didn't mind, it was much needed time for rest, for the both of them.

It was some time, after the sun had etched its colors across the sky that she began to stir. She shifted in her seat, her head coming to rest on Piotr's shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open when she realized he was there, "Piotr?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at her, "I was beginning to worry, you've been out for some time," he said brushing some hair off her face. 

She took in her surroundings, "What's going on?" it was barely above a whisper, but he heard it.

"We're on a bus, have been since this morning. I'm taking you to a place you'll be safe where they can help you," he explained.

He watched as a few tears began to slip down her face, she turned to the window her forehead against the glass watching the scenery slip by. 

"I can't believe it."

"I couldn't let them do that to you anymore, this place, they can help you develop your powers normally, no more tests no more experiments. There are others there, other mutants just like us, mutants who will help you, not hurt you," he said quietly. She turned around to see him, her face covered with tears, everything she wanted to say to him right then, wouldn't come out. She choked back a sob before launching herself into his arms. 

It wasn't until the next day that they arrived in Bayville. The others let them off the bus first and he carried her to a nearby bench before finding a small café and returning with some food.

 "So where is this place?" she asked.

"Once we start walking, you should see it, but I think it's only a couple miles."

Once finished, Piotr gave her the bag and she slung it on her back, then he motioned for her to get on his. 

"This looks silly," she said. 

"It looks better than when I was carrying you the other way, besides this is easier since we have some distance to go."  
 "I could probably walk a bit of the way," she said. 

"You wouldn't last five minutes, this way is faster, and I don't want to be out in the open long. Mystique has some of her lackeys out here; I wouldn't want them to see us."

It only took about an hour to reach the gates of the Institute, "So do you want to knock or should I?" she joked. 

He looked about, "I guess we just hit the intercom, I don't see anyone about. I would think it wrong to walk right in."

_Do not be worried, come in._

"We can go in," she said as the gate opened on its own. Piotr looked concerned, "How did you…"

"I heard a voice, it said not to be worried and that we should go in," she explained. Piotr started walking up the drive to the manor, worried that anyone they might see on the way would know that he had been on the other side. The manor had been rebuilt after its destruction, it seemed almost larger than he remembered. They approached the door and were surprised when it opened immediately.

 It was the last person he really wanted to see, "Wolverine," he acknowledged. The man let out a low growl, apparently none to thrilled about his being there. 

"The Professor is waiting, but lets get this straight, I will be watching you," he growled out. Piotr nodded and followed him down the hallway, he felt his back shaking, "You all right?" he asked turning his head to look at her. She had begun to tremble as soon as Wolverine had opened the door but it wasn't until now that it was strong enough for him to feel it. He stopped by a couch in the hallway, letting her off of his back onto the couch. Wolverine grumbled when he realized that Piotr had stopped. 

He had hardly noticed the young woman on Piotr's back, she had been hiding from him, but from what the Professor had said, she was the reason they were here. Now that he looked he could see her haggard appearance, there were bruises that were visible, but assumed there were many more he couldn't see. The fact that Piotr had been carrying her also told him that she was injured more than he could tell, but he did pick up the smell of blood, not fresh but dried. He walked on ahead to the office leaving the two out in the hall. "Chuck, you might want to come out here."

"What's wrong?" Piotr asked as he rubbed her arms, trying to calm her down. She noticed Wolverine walk away and relaxed a little.

 "Sorry," she whispered. 

"No don't be, just calm down a bit. Remember, you're safe here, they won't hurt you," he reminded her. 

"I know, I'm trying to its just, I can't help it. Its all been so much," she explained. They both looked up when they heard the motorized wheels enter the hallway.

"Professor," Piotr said standing up, acknowledging him. 

"Piotr, glad to see you, and this must be your friend," he said as he wheeled over in front of her. He extended his hand to her, but she made no movement to accept it, only looked over at Piotr. Piotr gave the Professor an apologetic look.

"That's alright, you just need some time, I understand. You've gone through a terrible ordeal, but we want to help you. We can treat your wounds and help you develop your powers. I had sensed you a long time ago, but you disappeared. I'm glad to see that you finally found us. We can go down to the Med-lab now; Dr. McCoy is down there waiting for us. He'll have you fixed up in no time," he explained, given her a comforting smile. Piotr picked her up from the couch and followed the professor through the house, Wolverine trailing close behind. She began to get more nervous the deeper they got into the house, the metal walls reminding her of Magneto's lab. 

Piotr felt her stiffen in his arms, "It's alright," he whispered. They reached the lab and Piotr set her down on one of the tables, but didn't leave her side. 

The professor wheeled over next to her, "I'd like you to lie down and relax, I'm going to read your mind," he explained. She looked towards Piotr and he nodded. She rested on the table and felt the professor's hand touch her forehead. He sifted through her mind, seeing everything from her childhood to her capture, to everything that Magneto had done to her, to Piotr rescuing her. A few tears escaped her as some of the more painful memories surfaced and childhood memories she had forgotten returned. 

The professor finished up and pulled away, "Dr. McCoy will be here in a moment, I'll let you be for now. Piotr, we'll find a room for you and by the time you're done lunch should be ready."

"Thank you, Professor," Piotr said. The professor nodded and he and Logan left the two. 

"C'mon, lets get you out of this coat so we can have him look at you," Piotr said untying the belt and helping her out of it. Dr. McCoy entered the room where the two were waiting. "Good Morning," he greeted. 

"Morning, Mr. McCoy," Piotr said greeting him back. 

"Please, call me Hank, I take it you're my patient?" he asked the young woman. She nodded meekly. 

"All right, well lets have a look at you," he said pulling over a table. He did the usual run of tests, checking her heart and blood pressure. He checked over the bruises he could see, "Are there more, anything else I should look at?" he asked. She didn't respond. 

"There're bruises all over, her back is my main concern. Magneto inserted some pieces of metal under her skin to help control her. The cuts aren't healed well and they'll need to be removed of course," Piotr explained for her. 

Hank nodded, "Well then lets get this off of you and have a look shall we?" he asked helping her with her shirt. 

She giggled slightly, "Sorry, your fur tickled," she said quietly. 

"That's quite alright, I'm glad you've finally spoken… Oh my," he said eyeing her back.

"I'd like to put her in the X-ray machine, make sure these are the only ones. After that I should be able to remove these, I can give her a local to numb her up a bit."

They consented and she was placed in the X-ray machine, luckily it turned out that the only ones they had seen on her back were the only ones. Piotr had to leave though and speak with the Professor, so Hank finished up working on her back, removing the metal, and stitching her back up. He drew some blood and gave her a tetanus shot to be on the safe side. 

"I'm going to have to restrict your movement for a couple days. You're to stay in bed as much as possible; I don't want those cuts to reopen. I'll ask some of the girls to see if I can find you something to wear then we'll find a place for you, I think you'd much prefer a room with a view then being stuck down here, right?" She smiled in response, "Do you think I can be in Piotr's room?" she asked. 

"I'll see what I can do," he promised. He went and found an extra wheelchair, "For now though, why don't we get you upstairs, lunch should be about ready and I'm sure you're hungry." Hank had found her a clean t-shirt from the laundry room, which took some time getting on without upsetting her stitches. He wheeled her upstairs to the kitchen where all of the mutants were just getting ready to sit down to lunch. The Professor and Piotr walked in right behind them. 

"Well now that everyone's here I guess introductions are in order. I'd like you all to meet Piotr Rasputin, I'm sure some of you may be familiar with him, also known as Colossus." Everyone said their hello's slightly wary of the large man knowing that he had once been on Magneto's side. Then the Professor turned their attention to the young woman in the wheel chair, " And I am pleased to also introduce, Mia Angelina."


	4. Garden Talks and Long Walks

Chapter Notes: So I went to Best Buy the other day and happened across this game 'X-Men Mutant Academy' basically a fighting game but you can go through the 'Academy' and learn all the moves for each mutant. Then if you complete certain tasks you get bonus material, like pics and things, its interesting gave me something to do for the better part of the rainy day.  School has just begun again so until I can determine my course load and how much time I'll have, I won't know how often I'll be updating. I'm sorry this one took so long though.

And on a side note I couldn't figure how old Piotr was in the series…so I'm putting him at 20, kinda looked like he might be about there….but if someone knows otherwise let me know.

K…that was a long note….

Enjoy

^_^

~AM

Chapter 4: Garden Talks and Long Walks

Mia received a round of hello's and smiles from the group around the table which she hesitantly returned. 

"I hope you will make both of our guests welcome," Xavier said before wheeling towards his spot at the end of the table. Piotr took the empty seat, which had been set out for him, and Logan had given up his spot next to him to allow Mia to be next to Piotr. 

The smell of brimstone and the slight 'bamf' alerted the table that their resident blue elf was joining them. However, his seat happened to be the one next to Mia's and no one had warned her about him. 

"Vhat's for lunch?" he asked as he appeared. Mia squeaked in surprise practically jumping and reached out for Piotr instinctively. Kurt himself had been startled and had fallen off his chair.

"Sorry elf, guess we should've warned you we had guests," Logan said extending a hand to help the fallen teen. 

"Its alvight, sorry for scaring you," he apologized to Mia. She shook her head to let him know it was no problem. Everyone ate their lunch making the usual conversation about what they were going to do that day. There was only a couple weeks left before the beginning of the school year and everyone was prepared to enjoy their last bit of freedom.  One by one they finished and left the table leaving only a few behind. Piotr and Mia we're taking their time, Beast was enjoying some coffee with the professor and Kurt was, well being Kurt, and eating up anything until he was full. 

Mia couldn't believe all the food that Kurt was packing away and her face didn't hide it, "Vhat? Is zere somezing on mien face?" he asked. She closed her mouth and shook her head no, returning to her food. Beast laughed, "I think she is merely astounded by how much you can eat," he commented. 

"I'm a growing boy," he said as he consumed half of a sandwich in only a few bites. 

When the professor noticed the two were done he suggested that they go rest for a while. They agreed and followed the professor upstairs. When they entered the room they found two beds, "I thought it best for Piotr to be able to keep an eye on you, incase you needed anything, so I had another bed brought in until you're well enough to be on your own."

"Thank you Professor," Piotr said wheeling Mia over to the smaller bed. Piotr had gone to him earlier asking for Mia to be placed in his room so he could keep his eye on her, it had taken some coaxing but he managed to convince him.

"I'll let you two get your rest, if you need anything please come find anyone of us," he said as he made his way out. 

Piotr helped Mia into her bed before going to his, prepared to enjoy some much needed rest.  

                                                                                                            ~*~

"Why would Magneto put this girl through all of that?" Ororo asked as she as well as Logan and Hank sat in the professor's office as he explained to the others the situation concerning their visitors. The story had stricken some cords within the weather goddess; her heart clenched when she learned of all the pains the young woman had gone through. 

"She possesses the X-Gene, that I know for sure. Her powers however have not developed, which is uncommon for her age, yet not totally unheard of. I believe the stress that Magneto was putting upon her that has prevented her powers from emerging," Professor Xavier explained.

"How old exactly is she?" Ororo asked. 

"She's 19, which is why its astonishing that her powers have not yet developed."

"So while Magneto was actually trying to get her powers to emerge he was, in fact, the cause of them being suppressed. It is quite interesting," Hank stated. 

"What about Colossus? How does he come into this?" Logan asked.

"I caught some of what was going on within his mind, he was projecting very strongly. His mind is in turmoil, he is torn whether to go or stay. Magneto has some sort of hold on him, but I don't know quite what. But he feels obligated to return, yet he wishes to stay for Mia and for himself."

"Won't Magneto come lookin' for them, I mean she's important to him it seems," Logan wondered.

"I believe he will, however, I don't believe he'll be expecting to find her here, not at first at least. For the time being I believe they'll be safe here. I'd like to step up security measures at least, I'll be assigning night duty for you and the older students," he explained. 

"What about her powers, I mean if Magneto has invested so much time in trying to surface them, then they must be important to his cause, if not very powerful," Ororo commented.

"That's one thing I do not know, and it doesn't appear she or Piotr know either. Magneto is probably the only one to know for sure but how he would go about it I do not know," he said.  The meeting was dismissed; Logan stepped outside and lit a cigar to ease his thoughts. The situation smelt funny to him, he didn't like it one bit. The idea of having one of the Acolytes within the Institute was bad enough, but even he knew there was something that was holding the metal man from leaving Magneto. "And if that's true he won't be hanging round real long…" he thought to himself. He put out the cigar before returning to the house, planning to check on their visitors. 

Peering into the room he discovered Piotr sound asleep, but Mia lay on her stomach staring out the window as best she could from her position. Logan moved around to sit on the side of the bed she was facing. 

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping Colossus. 

She looked him over a bit, still not sure how to feel about him. Piotr hadn't exactly seemed to like him so she wasn't sure what to make of him. 

"I aint gonna bite if that's what you're worried about kid," he told her as if reading her thoughts.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be, I know what you went through its hard to trust people after something like that." Mia looked up, could he possibly understand what that was like, he seemed sincere though but before she could speak he interrupted her, "Come on, how 'bout we go outside?"

She looked over at Piotr's sleeping form figuring she'd have some time before he woke up. She did really want to go outside, "Alright," she agreed.

Logan had wheeled her into the garden area before taking a seat at one of the benches and pulling her chair to face him.  He had thought she would open up more and talk but she seemed even more withdrawn barely looking around her. 

"What's on your mind?"

She blinked, stirred out of her reverie, "Do you really know what it was like for me?" she asked quietly. She heard a small sound and looked to find three long metal claws protruding from the mans hand. 

"You can't tell me this looks natural," he joked, but she detected the anger that laced through his words. She watched as he retracted them the skin healing up almost immediately. She didn't know how to respond to that and just sat quietly before he spoke up again.

"How old were ya when he took you?" 

"Ten or so I guess, I don't really remember anymore," she told him. The conversation seemed to end there and he rose pushing her around the garden some more until he figured it was best to get her inside. When they reached the foyer he heard heavy footsteps approaching figuring that Piotr was on his way. 

"Remember kid," he said crouching down to meet her eyes, "not a lot of these folks are gonna understand what you went through, but I do. If you need to talk about it you're more than welcome to come find me," he said before rising and greeting Piotr. The men exchanged some words and Logan left the two heading down to the basement, "I need a drink."

                                                                                                            ~*~

"I was worried when I woke up and you were gone," Piotr confessed pushing her into the living room. 

"I couldn't sleep and Logan came to check up on us it seems. He took me outside for a little while, I didn't want to wake you, you needed sleep," she explained. He helped her onto the couch and sat down with her. 

"Its ok, I'm just, not sure I trust him that much," he said.

"You two don't seem to like each other, what happened?" she asked.

Piotr considered the question, "There's just some…animosity between us that'll just take some time to get over, but nothing to worry about," he assured her. She accepted the answer and settled herself on the couch leaning against him suppressing a small yawn. Piotr found the remote for the television and turned it on finding something that was tolerable and shifted to allow Mia to rest more comfortably. They sat like that for sometime before they heard the stream of students moving about coming in from activities. Their silence disrupted, they shifted over as a few others joined in and the casual bickering over what to watch ensued. 

_Piotr please come to my office. _ Piotr heard the mental call and excused himself.

Knocking on the door he heard the professor call for him to enter and he did so finding him at his desk with Beast right along side him.

"Please, have a seat," the Professor directed. Piotr sat and waited for him to begin. 

"Hank would you like to start?"

"Very well. When I was cleaning up earlier I noticed something unusual about one of the pieces of metal that I had removed from Mia," he picked up the piece and moved over to Piotr. "This piece is actually a small tracking device," he flipped it over and showed him. 

"So Magneto knows where we are?"

"Quite possibly, we deactivated it, but there's no way of knowing whether he had discovered your location yet or not," the Professor explained. 

"Прокляните его.* So what do we do, we can't stay here, if Magneto knows where she is he'll come find her," Piotr asked. 

"Our defenses are tough, it won't be easy for them to get to her. And if necessary we will fight him, no harm will come to either of you I assure you. For the time being though I think its best if neither of you leave the mansion," he warned. 

Piotr agreed though inside he didn't like the prospect of Magneto finding them and would feel safer if they left. He would trust the professors' word for the time being seeing as they had nowhere else to turn. 

"I'd rather Mia not know for now if that's alright. I don't want to put anymore stress on her, if it does seem we are in danger then I'll let her know," Piotr asked.

"I agree, for now it'll just between us and the other adults. We'll be upping our security measures, more so than I planned. We'll have constant night watches and we'll keep the motion detectors on for the better part of the day," the Professor told him.

With the meeting over, Piotr headed back towards the livingroom. They were in danger and it bothered him that they were just going to sit here and wait it out. What if Magneto did show? As much as he would enjoy it he couldn't harm the older man, "not when he has…" he trailed off thinking it better to not consider it at the moment. He was putting those he loved at risk for this girl, but he would save them. He could picture the farm, his family and the town, everything was peaceful and perfect and he wished for the simpler times again, but he knew for that to happen he would have to take action, he just hoped that it all worked out in the end. 

* Means "Damn him" according to the online translator-mcbobber…thingy…however here's hoping that the site supports the text and doesn't appear as a bunch of wingdingy things….


	5. Promises

Author Notes:  Thanks for reviews, I love getting them and they encourage me to write ^_^

  And yes I agree there aren't too many Piotr fics out there….sad but true. I've seen him appear a lot more lately, but rarely do I come across any just featuring him…. *  thinks to start a "We Love Piotr" fan club * 

I did finally figure out how old Piotr is in the show, he's 18! Oh well, too bad I already made him twenty so he's gonna stay that way  ^_^

I also realized I had been spelling Rogue 'Rouge' and I have made sure to correct that.

Hot tamale…this baby is almost 11 pages…It took me forever… and then poof it was like someone kicked me into gear. So I spent all my time on this instead of homework…oh well, its evil anyways… maybe I can get Wolfsbane to eat my homework….

Enjoy

^_^

~AM

Chapter 5

"Promises" 

"Over here!"

"No! Throw it too me!"

Mia giggled as she watched the two dance around the court. It had been two weeks since that day and she had opened up much more around the students. Her stitches had been removed and earlier that morning Hank had given her a clean bill of health. Now she stood out on the large basketball court with Jamie, or about five of them, trying to teach her how to play basketball. When he had found out she didn't know how he had practically dragged her outside, finally happy someone older would learn from him instead of the other way around. 

"Jamie, I don't know which ones of you are on my team, you all look alike," she laughed. She tossed the ball to one of them who turned around and ran down the other end of the court.

"Aww, you threw it to the wrong one," he sighed as he collected his copies and picked up the ball. 

"I couldn't tell you apart," she explained.

"Maybe basketball isn't your sport, maybe I should teach you baseball!" he said getting all excited.

"I don't know if sports are for me, period," she laughed at the young boy.  A figure in the distance caught her attention, "We'll play later again, ok?" she asked.

"Alright," he said before going off to shoot some hoops on his own. She walked over to where she saw Piotr standing, "You're a natural," he joked.

She laughed, "I tried."

"I think the girls were looking for you," he told her as they headed back towards the house, "they want you to meet them at the Professors office."

He walked her to the office where the door was open and Jean, Kitty and Rogue were waiting. The first two seemed extremely excited while Rogue seemed to be cringing at their exuberance.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Ah, yes. I asked the girls here to take you shopping with them so you can pick up things you need. Apparently they were getting tired of sharing their clothes," he chuckled. Since surveillance hadn't detected anything out of the ordinary during their stay, and the Professor had not come across any movement from Magneto, he had decided it would be alright for her to be allowed out this once. 

"This is gonna be like, so much fun," said Kitty as she jumped out of her chair. The Professor smiled at the young girl before handing over a silver object to Rogue. "Rogue I'm entrusting you with this, its only for things she needs, not any other expenses," he told her. The other two girls jaws dropped, the professor seemed to trust Rogue with a credit card over them, of all the nerve…not that they were shop-a-holics or anything…so ok what if they were…

"Girls?" he asked as he watched them with amusement. Rogue and Mia were already at the door waiting on them.

"Right, coming," they said as they headed out.  

As the mall pulled into view Mia began to get nervous. This had actually been her first real trip off the grounds and while she got along with the three girls, this was the first time she had spent any time alone with them.  Jean pulled into the parking space and the four walked into the large mall, the building seemed to loom over her and she began to have her doubts.

Kitty and Jean were already through the door when she felt a small push from behind, "C'mon, if Ah gotta suffah you gotta too."

All in all, the entire trip had taken them a few hours. At Jean's insistence she had been dragged into a salon her hair cut and styled, cut to just above her shoulders and layered, the dark tresses now flipped outward leaving her with a soft ethereal appearance. The slew of stores she was forced to wander through and the piles of clothes convinced her that she would never **ever** shop again. She didn't even want to count the amount of bags they carried between them, she was pretty sure most of it was not essential but she hoped the Professor wouldn't be upset at all they had bought. Kitty had thought it would be fun if Mia surprised the others and helping her chose one of the outfits, had her go change before they headed home. The drive back was quiet and Mia noticed that Jean seemed to be nervous almost, she had about halfway through their trip become quieter.

"I don't know about this," Mia said as they pulled back up to the large manor.

"Relax everyone will love it," Kitty assured her. That's not what worried her though, she felt so…uncovered. They had chosen a tank top and a short skirt, short in her standards at least and a pair of heels that she swore would kill her the first step she took.  She hoped that Piotr had had a better day then she had been having.

                                                                                                            ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piotr watched the four girls leave, almost thinking for a moment he should go with them. He worried about her going outside the mansion, not that he doubted the three young women's abilities, just he felt better when he was watching over her. 

"Professor?"

"Yes, Piotr?"

"How are things going with the watch for Magneto?" he asked.

"Why don't we head down to Cerebro and check, shall we?" Piotr nodded and followed the older man out and through the mansion. They reached Cerebro and Piotr waited outside as instructed. Professor Xavier exited about ten minutes later, his lips set in a firm line.

"I think we better speak with the others."

The adults were gathered in the Professors office upon their return, waiting to find out what was happening. 

"I have detected movement from Magneto's Acolytes, two of them, Gambit and Pyro, are within the county."

Piotr stiffened at the news, they were here and Mia was out there, could they have possible found her already?

"They seemed to be stationed about a half hour away, not on the move at the moment, I assure you they aren't near the mall and I contacted Jean and asked that she keep an extra eye out, but not to say anything at the moment. I don't want to be worrying them anymore than necessary."

"So what are we going to do?" Ororo asked.

"Logan I'd like you to follow them, keep an eye on them and see what they're up to, however, I'd prefer not to have any confrontations. Our presence might alert them to the fact that Piotr and Mia are with us," Xavier explained. 

Logan gave a gruff "yes" before walking out and preparing to head off to find the two Acolytes. 

"We'll keep up with our surveillances and it would be best if you and Mia didn't leave the grounds until we are sure there is no threat to either of you," the professor warned. 

The meeting was over and Piotr headed up to the room he and Mia had been sharing. 

If Magneto was already sending people after them, then he knew something was up. He knew about his trips to visit Mia, so it was most likely he knew that Piotr had helped her escape. Now he was worried, he couldn't stay here, while the others had every intention of helping them get through this, it wasn't he who he was worried about. 

He made up his mind, he would leave, distract them, maybe throw them off Mia's trail. Piotr sat on the bed and pulled a small frame out of the drawer, letting his fingers trail over the edges of the frame. "Illyana…"

                                                                                                ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What'd you girls do, buy out the mall?" Scott grumbled as he took a few bags from Jean and brought them into the house.

"She didn't have anything Scott, we had to start from scratch," Jean reminded him as she put hers down as well. The other girls brought in their bags and turned to where Mia was still standing by the car.

"C'mon lets go show the others," Kitty called excitedly.

"I'm afraid if I even take a step I'll fall," she said.

"Don't worry, its not that bad, now c'mon," she said running down and grabbing her arm pulling her into the house. They stopped off at the Professor's office and Rogue returned the credit card. Mia was bright red by the time she had seen everyone, "This is embarrassing," she thought as she was finally allowed to return to her room. The girls all grabbed some bags and helped her bring them up. Piotr was on his way down when he came across them.

"You came home with whole mall?" he asked.

"You come home with a few bags, men assume you bought out the mall, what gives?" Kitty asked as she handed over her bags to the large man. He took them out of surprise as she retreated down the stairs. Then the others handed over theirs before leaving as well. He turned around and carried them into the room, putting them by the bed as Mia did as well. 

"Did you have fun?" he asked as she started dumping the items out of the bags onto the bed to begin folding and putting them away. 

"I don't see how they can go shopping so often, it's tiring," she laughed. He smiled, happy to see that she was finally enjoying herself around here more.

"They'll take good care of her, I won't have to worry," he thought as he sat down on his bed and watched her move about. He finally observed her appearance, and was slightly saddened to see that her hair had been cut short. The skirt showed a good deal of leg, not that he would deny he didn't mind…when did his thoughts start going in that direction?

"Piotr?"

It was then that he realized he had been staring, "Sorry. I'm just getting used to the new look."

She blushed, "I'm not sure I'll get used to it. It's not as, conservative as I would have liked."

He smiled, "I think you look very nice, though I admit to liking your hair longer."

"The woman said that since my hair hadn't really been cared for properly, it was best to cut off a lot of it because it wasn't healthy. I plan on letting it grow back though," she told him. 

He nodded and continued to listen to her talk about her day with the girls and all that she had been forced to endure. In the back of his mind he was trying to figure out how to approach her with the idea of his leaving. He knew they would take good care of her here, and that she would be safe and have the chance to develop her powers in peace. He didn't know how long he would be gone or if he would even be coming back. This was something he needed to do, unresolved issues that needed to be taken care of to keep her safe and to save his sister. 

"Piotr?"

He realized now that she was standing right in front of him, looking at him.

"Are you ill? You seem very out of it today," she commented her hand lifting to his forehead. Finding that he seemed well, she dropped her hand waiting for an answer. 

"I am fine, I was just thinking."

"Alright, I'm going to head downstairs and get some lunch, you coming?"

"I'm not hungry, but you go ahead. I am sure you have quite an appetite after today, yes?"

She nodded and excused herself, leaving Piotr to his thoughts. 

"I will talk to the Professor tonight," he thought pulling out the small frame again, "do not worry little one, I am coming for you."

* * *

"I don't get it mate, what we gotta be here for?" the Aussie asked as he leaned back, tipping the chair on to two legs.

"We on the lookout, homme," replied a thick Cajun accent.

"The sheila's run away, she's not going to walk into some pool hall, mate," Pyro shot back.

Remy didn't reply, he knew the boy was right, but that didn't matter to him. This was practically a vacation. Magneto sent them to the area to keep an eye out, it was the last place his tracker had picked up on, right outside of Bayville. He had a strong feeling that the girl was with Xavier and sent the two Acolytes out to keep an eye on the area incase. He knew Remy would be quite capable, but Pyro on the other hand….he just needed to get out of the base for a little while. The place was still recovering from the last time he set off the sprinklers.

"Just 'tink of it dis way, we outta de base. We be free, homme. No Mags telling us what to do, and all the free eats we be putting on his tab."

Pyro thought it over, "Guess you're right, still don't change that we have to scour the city for one bloody sheila."

"An' de tin man," Gambit added.

"Right. Well c'mon mate, I'm finished here, lets get this over with. I don't suppose you have some kinda plan?"

"Remy always have a plan," he saw a familiar head bob past the window, "an' dere she be," he said putting his half of the money down at the bar and walking out.

After being forced to suffer through shopping with Jean and Kitty, Rogue decided to do something for herself. She headed out the her favorite store, 'The Raven' a used bookstore that held everything in her imagination. It was a wonderful little shop in one of the back alleys and while there were quite a few others to chose from none held the charm that this one did. Or maybe she should say the others just had way to much charm. 

She soon realized that someone was behind her and she unconsciously pulled her sleeves down a little lower making sure she was covered. The footsteps soon fell in place with hers.

"Beautiful day, ain't it petite?"

"You! What're yah doing here Swamp Rat," she asked stopping to face him.

"Remy just be in de neighborhood, an' he happen ta see dis belle femme walk by an' wished to accompany her," he stated.

"Well ah don't want your company."  

"Aww, c'mon chere`, Remy's company can be very enjoyable." 

Did he just wink?

Before he knew it Remy was on his backside catching the view of one very p.o.ed Rogue leaving the scene. A couple others who had seen the event snickered before moving on. John walked up to him and extended him a hand, "That mate, was very funny."

"Just a bit o' bad luck. Remy win her over, you'll see," he said as he dusted himself off. 

"The sheila went banana's on you, but if you want to get shoved on your ass again be my guest," he laughed.

"That femme be an X-man, and where dere be one dere be many," Remy explained.

"Really now? So what you wanna do, walk up to her and ask if she's seen the them? Don't see that going over to well."

"Remy gonna win her over, like he told ya. C'mon."

Remy and John headed to the direction Rogue had gone and came across the back-alley bookshop. They entered and Remy instantly found the recognizable hair from over the shelves.

"Bonjour again, chere`."

"Don't you ever give up?"  
"Not when Remy sees something he likes," he teased. Rogue rolled her eyes and headed down the next aisle.

"Quit following me Swamp Rat."

"You already gave Remy a nickname, didn't know you cared chere`."

"Mah name aint chere` and I can come up with some more colorful names if ya like," she shot back turning away from him.

"Remy would like dat very much he would. Perhaps we can even put some o' dem to use," he said his lips turning up in a grin.

Rogues pale face was now flushed read her arms ready to bring the book in her hands, down on his head. 

Pyro jumped in just in time, "Sorry there sheila," he said grabbing the book to prevent the onslaught of any violence, "my friend here has a few kangaroo's loose in the paddock if you get my drift."

"Hey!" Remy yelled offended.

"Shh," Rogue scolded.

"Yea, bite your bum."

"Dis be a bookstore not a library, we be free to talk here, don't be shushing Remy," he said as he pulled out a playing card. 

The two began to bicker and Rogue made her way up to the cashier paid for her book and left. It wasn't until the boys heard the jingle of the door that they realized she had walked away.  

* * *

Mia was just finishing up the sandwich she had made when Logan walked into the kitchen.

"How you feeling kid?"

"I feel fine, tired out from shopping but fine."

"Good cause you and me got a session tomorrow, 6 a.m. and don't be late," he ordered as he grabbed a soda from the fridge.

She nearly choked at the words '6 a.m.'

"How can I train if I have no powers to train with?" she asked.

"We're gonna be getting you used to fighting. That means learning hand-to-hand combat with me, every morning from now on. We're going to jog, lift weights, everything to build your body back up and give you some muscle. And eat more than that will you, you're a stick I could break ya with one wrong move. The Professor will be starting with you too in the afternoons to help you with your powers."

"I liked you better when you were being all soft on me."

"I ain't soft kid, and don't you start telling anyone here that I am."

He threw away the now empty can and left the kitchen, Mia cleaned up her plate and headed off to the lounge to see what everyone was up to. She found Piotr, Kitty and Kurt watching TV with a few others she didn't know names of yet. After watching some TV she began to feel sleepy and excused herself to take a nap. She was getting ready to sleep when she noticed something different in the room. On the desk next to Piotr's bed was a small frame.

Curious she picked it up and looked at it, while sitting down on his bed. It was a young girl, no older than seven with a wreath on her head made of flowers. The blonde hair and bright blue eyes gave her an angelic appearance. 

It was the same thought she had had when she first met Piotr. She opened the back of the frame up hoping to find a name. Printed on the back of picture in neat script was 'Illyana Rasputin, at age 7'

"My sister."

She nearly dropped the frame in surprise as she realized Piotr was now standing in the room. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snoop, it was just sitting there."

"It's quite alright, I had planned on showing you anyways." He took the frame from her hands and sat down on the bed next to her. 

"I have not seen her in long time, she's a few years older now," he stated.

"You must miss her a lot," Mia whispered feeling if she talked any louder it would break the moment.

"Da, I do. Do you know why I worked for Magneto?"

The sudden change in conversation caught her off guard, "No, why?"

"I worked for her, because he has her. I endangered her by leaving, all I could think about these last two weeks was that something may have happened to her," he explained. Mia put her hand on his, it was the only comfort she could offer at the moment.

"I am going to speak to the Professor tonight, I am leaving to go find her."

"By yourself?" he nodded, "Piotr they can help you, I'm sure they'd be more than willing."

"It is something which I alone must do. I can not put anyone else at risk, I won't."

"Then at least let me help, you've done so much for me already let me do something for you."

"No. I will not put you in danger. Magneto is the only one who knows where she is and therefore I must go back. I will not let you come. You will be safe here, so please stay here."

He couldn't even look at her it would break his heart. He was surprised when he felt her arms encircle him. She was kneeling on the bed, her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder.

"Just promise me you'll come back, okay?"

"Mia…"

"Please, Piotr," the sound of her voice made his heart clench.

"I promise you, I'll come back."


	6. Sweat and Tears

**Chapter 6**

After finally convincing Mia that he would indeed return, Piotr had then headed to the Professor's office to speak with him on the matter. Xavier had offered the help of the X-Men, but Piotr not knowing the whereabouts of his sister refused, thinking that the danger to her was imminent and could not waste time in an endless search.

"I see that I can not persuade you otherwise," was his final comment before accepting Piotr's decision. Xavier made arrangements to have Piotr supplied with anything he might need as well as a cell phone should he need to make contact. Piotr hid that within his bag, hoping upon his return, that Magneto would not think to check his things. He was fairly certain the others possessed phones themselves, but they also had not turned traitor.

It had been decided that he wouldn't leave tomorrow, but the day after. It had already gotten late in the evening by the time he had finished with both Mia the Professor and the time had been rather draining. The Professor and Piotr arrived to join the others who still remained at dinner. A quick glance around showed no signs of Mia and Piotr wasn't sure if she just hadn't come down or had already eaten.

Logan noticing him filled him in, "Kid made herself a plate and took it up with her." Piotr nodded, not realizing how transparent his actions had been and ate quickly before excusing himself.

"Chuck, you sure about this?" Logan asked, having been told of the situation, albeit silently.

"No, and I'm not exactly for it. But his mind won't be changed," Xavier replied.

"Walking back in there, that kid's gonna get his ass kicked. Magneto won't take his leaving lightly," Logan commented.

"I am also concerned about the increase in leverage they will have over him should they get a hold of Mia, or even if he thinks they have her. I do not want her leaving these grounds, its a shame to restrict her so after she finally has had a chance to be out a bit, but I won't risk it," Xavier told him.

He sipped his tea a moment longer, "In the meantime, I will be trying to locate Piotr's sister so that hopefully we can prevent any possible tragedies."

Piotr returned to his room and realized that Mia wasn't there. The plate she had taken up was, but there was no sign of Mia herself. He felt a quick draft and realized that the balcony door was slightly ajar. He didn't see her through the door but noticed her sitting off to the side on the floor. He stepped out and joined her on the ground. They sat silently for sometime before he spoke.

"Please don't be upset about all of this. I know you will be fine here, they will take care of you."

She lifted her head, but didn't turn to look at him, "I'm not worried about myself. I know I'll be okay, I'm happy here. I'm upset because I know what Magneto is capable of and you're just handing yourself back over to him." The end of that sentence nearly came out choked.

He started to speak but she stopped him, "I know I can't change your mind, and I wouldn't try. I know how much your sister must mean to you. But it doesn't mean I can be happy about it. You did so much to help me get out of there and now I have to sit here unable to help you and... and it's not fair. Worrying is all I can do, so please, don't tell me not to."

Her tears were flowing freely at that point and suddenly Piotr no longer knew what to say. He was going to tell her not to worry, and now he had no words to offer. So he offered all he could think of , comfort. Scooting over, he pulled her against him and held her while she cried out her frustrations. It was sometime until she calmed down and even then they sat like that for a while. Finally she felt composed enough to draw away, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Why don't we go back inside, I think it's going to rain soon," he pointed out. She hadn't paid much attention and noticed the heavy clouds above. On cue a few raindrops fell and they moved inside before it poured. He noticed her plate again and how much of the food hadn't been eaten.

"Come, lets get you some actual dinner."

The next morning Mia's alarm went off far too early to her liking. Her training would begin today, and while she was excited to join in with the others, she was hesitant. While she had kept herself slightly active in her room as much as it would allow, her body had taken serious blows in the past month. She had watched a couple of the exercises the others ran in the Danger Room and she knew she would not be able to keep up with something of that level.

She glanced over and saw Piotr stir with the sound of the alarm then settle. She tip-toed about and headed down to the locker room to dress.

Logan had already been warming up when Mia walked in. Looking around, she noticed she was by herself and was slightly thankful.

"Ready kid?"

"No."  
"Too bad," he smirked.

They spent what felt like forever learning basics. Warming up, stretching, free weights, then he sent her on a quick jog. She looked down at her watch and noticed almost an hour had gone by. She knew some of the others started at 7 and hoped he would end her session here.

"I want you to stay for part of the next class and learn some of the defensive moves."

The next group to file in was the younger crowd and Mia felt slightly silly standing among the kids of the group. Jaime was happy to have her as a partner though and she had to admit his energy perked her up. She spent the next hour training with them before finally being excused when the intermediate group arrived. When she returned to her room Piotr was up and gone. She hopped into the shower and came out to find a grinning Piotr and a plate of breakfast on her nightstand.

"How did it go?" he asked as he sat down next to her. She grabbed her plate and half devoured the food.

"I don't think I'll be able to move for a week. Now only if I didn't have to get up and do it again tomorrow." Her eyes dropped at the idea of what tomorrow was to bring but she stopped herself and finished her breakfast. Piotr sensed the change but he had decided he would try and refrain from bringing it up and instead make the day a fun one. The Professor had mentioned a BBQ and it seemed a good way to lighten the mood.

It was still early but others were already outside setting up a bit, Scott had made sure the grass around the pool had been cut and others were cleaning up the patio a bit. Jean was washing down tables and chairs and Beast was checking over the grill. The festivities wouldn't start for a few hours though so Piotr figured they'd have to find something to do in the meantime. They still were not allowed to leave the grounds and he wouldn't endanger her by even suggesting it.

When she finished her breakfast Piotr suggested a walk, there were numerous paths through the more heavily wooded areas that were off of the gardens. They would be away from the others but not off the grounds. He knew she hadn't had a chance to explore them yet and neither had he, it seemed a nice idea on a sunny day. She agreed and pulled on some sneakers, then they headed out.

Neither of them really knew what to say during their walk, most of the time they walked in companionable silence. Most comments were observations, they investigated some downed trees crossing over the path, a small brook where is appeared an old bridge had stood though the water was probably only calf deep and stopped to watch some deer graze. When he helped her climb over another downed tree, Mia noticed he didn't release her hand and decided not to comment on it.

She hadn't quite yet sorted out her feelings on a lot of things regarding Piotr. Then again, she didn't fully understand most of them. One of the many things she was working on with the professor was how to handle herself socially and emotionally. There were many times where she missed social cues, she didn't know how to tell when someone was sarcastic or attempting to change subjects. She didn't know how to process other people's emotions or reflect them back properly. The people she actually felt the most comfortable talking to were those almost half her age.

As they came back up to the gardens, they spotted Logan sitting out on one of the benches smoking a cigar. Mia thought Piotr would drop her hand but was surprised to realize his grip had firmed and he nodded at Logan as he approached.

Logan watched the two come up hand-in-hand. Piotr stopped and spoke in a low voice to Mia who nodded and smiled and headed up towards the house. She gave Logan a small wave as she went by and headed in. Piotr sat on the bench next to Logan and waited until he finished what was left of his cigar.

"I'm taking it you need something?" Logan asked gruffly.

"A favor."

Logan crushed the remainder of the cigar under his heel, "We haven't exactly been on the best of terms for you to be asking favors of me."

"Then consider it a favor for Mia," Piotr said. That had Logan's attention, "No promises, but I'm listening."

"She trusts you, for whatever reason," he couldn't help but throw that in there, "so I'm asking you as a favor for me and for her, to watch out for her. She knows the others, but she's not really friends with many of them yet. Until she's more comfortable being independent she's going to need someone to help her. I'm asking you to be that someone while I'm gone."

Logan hid an inner smile, because he knew that hurt Piotr's pride a bit to ask such a thing of him. It's not like he had any intention of leaving her to fend for herself, he had plans to work with her everyday anyways. "You don't have anything to worry about," Logan told him. Piotr nodded and stuck out his hand, staring down the other man. Logan finally accepted and they shook, entering what Logan could only liken to "neutral territory".

During Piotr's conversation with Logan, Mia took herself off to find one of the girls. She was surprised when Piotr said he needed to speak to Logan alone. She didn't think they had spoken more then a few words to each other outside what was necessary since they'd been there. Most of the others had been pretty open to their arrival. She understood from the others that some who had fought against Piotr were hesitant, but since the news of Piotr working for Magneto under duress had come out, many had been sympathetic, others almost apologetic.

She couldn't locate Jean or Kitty but ultimately found Rogue in her room. She had been sitting on her bed with a book as well as her headphones on. Mia could only wonder how someone could accomplish reading a whole book while distracted with music. It took all her focus to get through the books the professor had given her to work on her schooling. She made sure the door was shut behind her. Rogue saw her and pulled off her headphones.

"What's up? You look like you got somethin' serious on your mind," Rogue asked.

Mia shifted a bit nervously, "I need to ask you something. More like I need advice on something."

Rogue looked her over a bit and patted the chair next to the bed, "Ah'm beginning to get the idea that this is boy related."

Mia blushed, "Well, yes. It's just that this is all really new to me and I'm not sure how I even begin to talk about it."

Rogue laughed lightly, "Just don't ask me about the birds and the bees and we'll be good."

Mia looked confused, "Why would I want to know about birds and bees?" she asked.

Rogue shook her head, "That joke is lost on ya. What is it ya need help with then?"

Mia thought it over briefly, "Piotr is leaving tomorrow and the thing is that, I don't know if he feels the same way I feel about him."

"Do ya love him?" Rogue asked.

Mia considered the question, "The problem is, I have nothing to base love off of. I can't recall loving anyone to know what 'love' is, I've never even really been around people who love each other. I _think_ I may love him but not knowing what love really is I can't be certain."

"See there's part of the problem, you're thinking about it too much. You're not supposed to be using just your head in these situations. Ya need to use your heart too. Let me ask you somethin'. How often do ya think about Petey?"

"These are going to get embarrassing aren't they? Umm, I don't know, a lot."

"When ya haven't seen him in a while, do ya wonder where he is or what he's doin'?"

Mia nodded.

"Do ya feel sad when you don't see him?"

She nodded again, she understood where Rogue was going. "Fine, I think you answered my question," Mia put her head in her hands. "What do I do now?"

"Ya go and tell him."

"Just like that? Surely there's more too it. I mean, what if he doesn't feel that way. Then I'd just feel stupid. And then he'd leave and that would be it. I couldn't handle that."

"Bring it up when the time is right. Like tonight when you guys are alone. Just tell him that, ya know you're not going to see him for some time and ya wanted him to know how ya felt. And don't make him feel like he has to respond right away, he might need a little time to think about it. Although, seeing how he acts around ya sometimes I wouldn't be too worried."

Mia looked up at that, "Really?" Rogue nodded and patted her hand with her gloved one, "Ah would be surprised if he doesn't feel the same way sugah." Mia smiled and thanked her, "One more thing," Rogue said heading over to her bookshelf. She pulled out a few books and handed them to her.

"What are they?" Mia asked. "Romance novels. Trust me, they'll put some ideas in your head," Rogue said with a wink.

Mia headed back to the bedroom and stashed the books away in her nightstand. She glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly noon. She was supposed to meet with the professor shortly. She headed through the kitchen and grabbed a quick snack. The BBQ was supposed to start around two, that's when she and the professor would be done with her work for the day.

Professor Xavier was already in his study when she arrived.

"Now then, how about we get started. The sooner we finish the sooner we can join in on the fun."

They spent the first hour working on her schooling. He hoped to get her on pace with the others who would be entering their senior year at high school shortly. Although the decision had been made she'd study with Xavier and a few of the others and to help her earn a GED. Ultimately, he hoped she'd be able to attend college classes the following year with the others, she would just have to work through the summer. The following hour was focused on her abilities. Most of the time, Xavier was in her mind trying to find what was blocking her from using them.

"You have a mini fortress in there," he told her. She looked at him confused, "A fortress?"

"It's like you have a wall, built around part of your mind. I think if we can get through that wall, your abilities will resurface."

"Resurface, but I don't remember them surfacing at all."

The professor wheeled himself behind his desk and turned the computer screen around.

"Years ago, what would be the year you disappeared actually, you came up in my radar so to speak. It was just one instance, I was in Cerebro and felt it," he showed her his file. "However, when I looked for your signal later on, I couldn't find one. So you see, your powers did emerge, but with all that happened with Magneto, my assumption is you've locked that part of you away."

Mia processed the information, "So, we just have to knock that wall down?"

The professor shook his head, "No, that would be a bit dangerous. We have to deconstruct the wall slowly. If we were to just knock it down, I'm afraid it would cause you terrible distress and could possibly make things worse. But, I see nothing else we can really do today. There's a party waiting for us my dear, and I say we go join it."

The professor wheeled towards the door and Mia rose to join him. She could already hear music outside of the house and saw many of the students out in the pool and on the patio. She found Piotr at a table with Kurt and Rogue and joined them.

"How did things go?" Piotr asked knowing of her sessions with the professor.

"Good, it'll take some time, but otherwise it went well for the first one."

Piotr nodded, "Good. Now, lunch is being served, I say we join the line before Kurt does."

Kurt pretended to be offended, "You forget, I can just pop into line at any time."

They grabbed their food and made themselves comfortable. After she had eaten, Kitty came up and grabbed her. "If you'll excuse us," she said grabbing Rogue as well. Piotr watched them leave in curiosity, Mia had looked confused herself.

Kitty had dragged them into her shared room with Rogue. She grabbed something off the bed and tossed it to Mia.

"I know you don't have one and it's not something I thought to pick up during our shopping trip, so I figured you could borrow one of mine." Mia looked over the items in her hands, "It's a swimsuit?" she asked."Like, duh. It's a bikini. I bought this one so I don't really wear that one anymore, it should fit you fine. Go, try it on." Rogue was going through her stuff and pulled out the trunks and top she wore to go swimming in. "I think Rogue's stuff is better, there's not much to this," she said holding up the pieces. Rogue only laughed, "Here," she said tossing her a one piece, "Ah normally wear this if I'm not going to be around too many people. But everyone's in the pool today."

She changed into the swimsuit and the three of them headed back down to the pool. She stepped into the shallow end while the others headed over to jump off the board. A few minutes later Piotr joined her. "Do you know how to swim?" he asked. "Nope. That's why I'm standing here. Still feels nice though." She noticed many of the others were hanging out in deeper waters, she was going to have to add learning to swim to her long list of things to do.

"C'mon," Piotr said pulling her along, "Just float, I won't let you go." As they got towards the others he moved over the wall so she could hold on, but stayed close in case she needed help.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in leisure. Many started getting tired of swimming and had moved to the outer edges of the pool or were now dangling their legs over the side. Someone had started a campfire and marshmallows had appeared. Others had moved inside and started a movie marathon. Mia was feeling exhausted, she wanted to go to bed. Between Logan's session, the professor's and all the swimming, she was done. She didn't want to turn in before talking to Piotr though. She excused herself and decided she would grab a shower, it was her hope it would wake her up. She changed into her nightclothes and came out to find Piotr waiting his turn. While he was in the shower she set her mind to work. She sat on his bed and waited for him to come out all the while replaying what she was going to say in her head. She let her eyes close as she pictured it all and was unaware she had allowed herself to fall asleep.

When Piotr came out of the bathroom he was surprised to see Mia half sitting up against the headboard asleep. He sighed, of course she had fallen asleep, he wanted to talk to her. He had spent so long in the shower trying to decide what he was going to say to her. Why she was on his bed though he could only guess.

He went about the room and put out the few things he would need tomorrow then packed up the rest in his duffel. He had everything the professor had given him stored away in there too. He sat on the bed and the shift in weight woke Mia up.

"I fell asleep? How long?" she asked looking around.

"Probably only 15 minutes," Piotr told her. "Were you waiting for me?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

Her skin was so pale the blush set in quickly and rather obviously. She nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you." She felt every rehearsed word fly out of her head.

"Mia, you're practically shaking, are you okay?"

"Yes and no," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I'm butchering this. I just don't even know how to say what I want to say." Piotr took her hand, "Would it help if I went first." She nodded looking down at their hands. Needless to say she was surprised when his other hand caught her chin and his lips settled on to hers.

He was careful, he knew how new all this was to her and gave her time to adjust. He pulled back a little to check her reaction to realize her eyes were wide.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked you first," he said. She shook her head, "No, I was just, surprised. Sorry, this is so new to me. I mean, I liked it," she wasn't sure she could blush any harder at the moment, "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

He smiled, "Well then, you will just have to learn."

A few more stolen kisses and they settled in for the night. Piotr was too much of a gentlemen to let anything go beyond that. However, instead of heading for her own bed, Mia curled up against him. She couldn't fight staying awake a moment longer, regardless of the extra adrenaline.

"I have my training with Logan in the morning," she got out between yawns. "You won't leave without me seeing you right?"

"I have to wait until you're done, Logan is giving me a ride to the train station. Professor Xavier wanted to come along as well. You are welcome to join us."

She didn't respond, though she wasn't sure she could handle going along. In no time they had dozed off for what might be their last time together. Neither one of them had wanted to think that, but the unwelcoming thought was there.

At 6:15 when Mia hadn't shown up in the Danger Room, Logan called into the Locker Room then headed upstairs. He had planned to go easy today as it was, knowing she'd be hurting from the day before and was probably going to be an emotional wreck by midday.

He listened at the bedroom door but heard no movement and cracked it open to see the two together in Piotr's bed. He was about to leave when Piotr shifted and looked up, the sound of the door had probably woken him. Piotr looked at the clock and realized why Logan had shown up, he was about to shake Mia when Logan signaled to him to just forget it. "You can tell her I let her off this once, but she better be on time tomorrow."

Piotr nodded and Logan left. He settled back in the bed and Mia stirred, "I thought I heard something."

"You did, you missed your session with Logan."

She shot up and looked at the clock, "Oh, hell." She started to get out of bed when Piotr grabbed her arm. "He said you're off the hook for today."

Mia sighed, she couldn't believe it was only day two of her training and she had missed it. She'd heard horror stories of even being late to training with Logan, though she was sure they were somewhat exaggerated, she hoped.

"It just means he'll probably make me stay longer again tomorrow," she climbed back under the covers.

"We can probably get about another hour of sleep in I think," Piotr commented.

She barely heard him, "I'm already on my way."

By 7:30 Piotr had gotten up and dressed. He had lay there most of the time awake, too nervous to really sleep. Even he didn't know how this was all going to go. He could walk back in there and Magneto could kill him for all he knew.

He shook Mia awake, not wanting to just leave the room and have her wake up to think he was gone.

"Do we have to? Why don't you just go tomorrow?" she asked. Her attempt at humor was only to cover her sadness. She hadn't wanted to face the day.

"Come, get dressed and I'll go get us some breakfast. I'll bring it up here and we'll have breakfast by ourselves." He left the room and she dragged herself out of bed and got dressed. He returned about 10 minutes later with breakfast. Downstairs everyone who ran into him had stopped him to talk to him about his leaving, he was glad he chose to eat upstairs. They took their time eating and talked, then figured they had a bit more time to go outside and strolled through the gardens together.

Finally it was time. He went to their room and put the last few things in his bag. Rogue had slipped him a picture she had printed off just last night of him and Mia and he added it to his things. Mia stood in the room and watched him. She decided she couldn't go to the train station. She could already feel the tears welling up.

"Are you sure you won't come?"

She nodded, "I'd just make a scene I'm afraid."

He smiled lightly, "I'll say goodbye here then, no one will see you if you do."

She stepped into his arms and held on as tight as she could. The tears were flowing freely now and many ended up on his shirt. "I'll keep my promise, I'll come back. I just don't know how long it will take." She nodded and pulled back a bit and he lowered his head and kissed her.

"Be happy here, when I come back, I want to hear everything and you can show me your powers, da?"

She nodded and he picked up his bag. She hadn't moved and didn't think she could. He heard the horn beep from the waiting car outside. He brushed one last kiss on her hair then headed out the door.

She stood where she was until she heard the car move down the driveway, then her knees gave way.

***

AN: So it's been, well, a really really long time. I literally have chunks of this story written, it's just getting it filled in that's the problem. This chapter was mostly the mushy stuff to make way for the more important parts coming. And hopefully they will come quicker...


	7. Powers

Chapter 7

The next few days, then weeks, dragged on. Mia went through things almost mechanically. Every morning she trained with Logan. In the afternoons she met with the Professor. They had made limited progress in regards to her powers. Destruction of the wall in her mind would take time he had told her, it had to be slow or it could be traumatic. Every now and then, a stray memory would present itself. Proof, the professor said, that it was working.

Most of the students had started school and she was alone in the mansion save for the adults and a handful of others who were either attending college nearby or had to be taught in the mansion. She spent most of her free time reading, or pretending to, Logan was always trying for extra training sessions.

One of the few things she was grateful for was the new friendships she was making. Rogue had become one of her closer friends. Seeing as how Mia wasn't into many of the same things the other girls commonly discussed, Rogue quickly jumped in and steered her towards her own interests. Movies, books and music were Rogue's life. They didn't quite have the same taste in music but Mia was always cordial and listened to Rogue's suggestions. They constantly watched movie's together so Mia could get caught up on many of the movies that everyone knew about or referenced. Rogue also loaned her books and introduced her to her favorite bookstore.

For Mia, it was her first real connection with someone other then Piotr. She was happy to at least have one good friend and she was slowly connecting with the others. Kitty, being Rogue's roommate was almost always present and good for when she needed help with social aspects that Rogue really had no interest in. Jamie was always looking for partners in games and Kurt was always happy to introduce her to foods.

Without her powers though, she still felt like the odd one out.

She felt all too normal living in a place of mutants. The other students would just pop in from nowhere, move things around without touching them or make up games using their abilities. It was strange to feel out of place by being normal.

Sitting in one of her sessions with the Professor, she sat with her eyes closed while he worked in her mind. She generally tried not to think about anything, she was always worried she'd think of something embarrassing while he was in there. He tried instructing her to focus on the missing memories and recalling the few that had surfaced. None of them were particularly striking though, just simple things.

Xavier busied himself with trying to break down the wall. In her mind, it had truly taken on the shape of a wall, with him taking it down brick by brick. He wasn't sure what had made her put up such a thing in her mind, though his thoughts turned to Magneto. It was possible to have erased some memories, if not all of them. Perhaps he had. As she sat there something suddenly felt wrong. She wasn't sure what it was, she felt like pressure was coming down on her and began to panic. She had suffered through a few panic attacks since she had been out, but this felt different. She willed the Professor out of her mind.

"Mia, it's okay. Breathe."

"I don't think it's a panic attack," she said feeling her heart-rate return to normal. "I just felt like something was going wrong. I felt like, if I didn't make you come out something was going to happen."

The professor nodded, "Perhaps we were unearthing a bad memory, but we won't continue for today. I think you are in need of a break. I think we'll move our session to every other day for a while, what do you think?"

"Whatever you feel is best, it hasn't been a problem before, just now though, I don't know what that was."

"Let me know if you experience any problems, but for now we're done. You're free to go," he said excusing her.

She rose and left the room feeling a bit on edge.

No one would be back for another hour or so, she headed to her room and grabbed one of the books Rogue had given her. However, she couldn't seem to get past the first few pages. She stared across the room at Piotr's bed, then left hers to curl up there. She convinced herself that all she needed was a nap and she'd feel at rights again.

She woke up at the sound of the others returning home. Rogue burst into her room, "Want to go to town, I got permission to take you out," she laughed. Anytime she wanted to leave she had to check with someone. As of late there hadn't been any sightings of Magneto's Acolytes, but that made her concerned they were far busier with other things, like Piotr's return.

"Sure, just give me a chance to get ready."

She felt a bit more awake once outside and walking around, getting out had been all she had needed. Rogue had wanted to hit up the bookstore, one of her authors had a new book out and Mia tagged along. The Professor had been kind enough to provide her with a bit of money to shop with, she wanted to get a part time job, but he had told her she couldn't until they could guarantee her safety. She picked up a book herself, then they checked out a few more shops before stopping at a small café for some coffee. That was something else she had come to love.

They started walking back with their drinks and purchases in hand when something popped at their feet. They were in front of a small park and couldn't make anything out, but Rogue had a feeling who was there.

"Mia, go," Rogue whispered harshly.

"What? What's going on?" she asked.

"Will you just go!" she said a bit louder.

They heard a light chuckle, "But it's the petite, I need, chere." Remy stepped out from behind a thicket of trees and stood in front of their path.

"Get lost swamp rat, she 'aint goin' nowhere," Rogue growled, dropping her things and getting ready to fight. Mia stepped back, she realized now that he must be one of Magneto's men.

"You beautiful when you're angry, chere, but Remy 'aint here to take her. Not yet at least," he said. Rogue was a bit caught off guard. She tried not blushing at the comment too.

"What are ya here for then?" she asked picking up her bag.

"Remy have a delivery, for you petite," he said handing over an envelope. Mia eyed it curiously, "What is it?"

"A letter from da tin man." She grabbed it quickly, "Piotr! He's okay?"

"He's alive, and he's worried about you, though I see you're in good company," he winked at Rogue. She rolled her eyes.

"But he's okay right? He's not hurt?" she asked opening up the letter. "He took a bit of a beating, but Petey's tough and he's okay."

She nodded and started reading over the letter.

Rogue was still not thoroughly convinced, "So how are you here then, without Magneto knowing? I thought it was your job to take her."

"Magneto sent us back out for a bit, to gather information. I have to go back in a few days, petite, if you want me to take a letter back. Remy may work for Magneto, but Petey is my friend. He been worried sick, petite."

She nodded, "I'll have a letter for you, where can I find you?"

"Meet me back here this Friday, same time. If not you then send someone with it, Remy has to leave Saturday."

"The professor isn't going to like this," Rogue sighed. "Then he'll just not have to know. I need to do this Rogue. You can bring the letter if I can't," Mia said.

"Remy be here Friday petite. Chere, I'll be seeing you," with that he walked away.

"Now I may not know everything, Rogue, but I think he likes you," Mia commented as they walked home. Rogue groaned, "Well, that would be my luck wouldn't it."

Later that night alone in her room, Mia reread the letter from Piotr and tried to write a response. He was alive, for the most part unhurt and he had seen his sister.

_Mia,_

_I hope you are well. I am thinking of you always and wishing that you are doing well with the others. I hope you have been able to make progress with your work with the Professor but do not discourage if you don't. Hopefully by the time I see you next, you will be have your powers and your memories._

_I have seen my Illyana. After I returned they allowed me to see her briefly to know that she is alive and unhurt. They are keeping her here within the building and are reminding me many times that they will hurt her if I try something. They make me wear a bracelet that Magneto calls an inhibitor, I can not call on my abilities, it keeps my powers from working. Though for the time we are both safe. It is you that I am worried about._

_I am worried that Magneto has a plan in mind. The others tell me he has been busy and making several trips, but only Sabertooth and Mystique have been included in these. Please be careful and try to stay on the grounds. Tell the professor what I have told you. _

_Remy can be trusted, you may use him to send any messages to me. I still have the cellphone, but can not use it here, buried as we are I can get no reception. I can only hope we will be together again soon and you can tell me all that you have done while I was gone. _

_With Love,_

_Piotr_

She felt tears welling up, but tried to keep them at bay. She'd write a letter tomorrow, when she was more clear headed. She felt like a headache was coming on, but it had been a long day and a bit of a stressful one. She changed and headed for bed, opting to sleep in Piotr's large one instead of her own. The professor had made a suggestion of moving her in with the regular students but she hadn't felt up to that yet and wasn't sure when she would. She buried herself in the covers and drifted off to sleep.

Sleep wouldn't be easy though, her mind felt like it was constantly running. It was only a while after she realized she was indeed asleep and whatever she was experiencing was some sort of dream. At first there was nothing, she looked about and didn't see anything then turned back around to find a wall in front of her.

"Perhaps this is my wall," she thought, referring to the supposed one in her head. Then it changed and the landscape blackened. She heard voices behind the wall calling for her, pounding to get out. She couldn't recognize any of the voices.

"Maybe this isn't my wall, but just a normal one," she hoped.

She walked along the wall but it didn't seem to end in either direction, she also saw no doors. The pounding was growing louder and a few chunks of brick fell.

"Stop! Stop pounding on it, you'll break it!"

This only seemed to fuel them and the pounding grew harder. More bricks tumbled and the wall made a horrible cracking sound. "No! It's not supposed to do that!" She ran from the wall to escape the falling debris but the voices just chased after her. She screamed, willing herself to wake up.

Down the hall Kurt was heading for a midnight snack when he caught the sound of a scream. There were plenty of students here who had nightmares but he noticed it came from further down the hall where most of the guest rooms were. Knowing Mia was the only person down that hall at the moment he appeared before her door and knocked. When he got no answer he opened the door and looked around not seeing her in her bed.

He wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't been glowing. Her hands were almost blue with light.

She had backed herself in the corner of the room, a look of horror on her face and her hands held out as far as she could keep the from herself.

"What's happening?" she cried. Kurt moved closer and by now another face or two was peeking in from the door having heard the scream or sensed her.

"Get ze Professor," Kurt ordered to the younger mutants who darted off. He got down in front of her and tried to get her to calm down, "Concentrate Mia, try to make it go away. You have to calm down."

It felt the more she tried not to focus on it, the more upset she got. Logan appeared in the doorway after being alerted by one of the other students on their way to the Professor.

"Kid, what's going on," he asked barging in. She grew more upset as more people began to fill in the doorway.

"Mia, calm down," Kurt ordered again.

"I can't! I can't make it go away! Make it go away!" she hollered. Logan was quickly next to her, "Get a grip kid," he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Focus."

By now a good ten people were watching, she felt like she couldn't breathe, the pressure in her body felt like it would collapse and crush her. "Logan, I can't..." As she struggled for words she felt the pressure come to its apex and a pulse was felt throughout the room. The light from her hands began to fade. She panted, trying to catch her breath, her body felt like lead and she had no energy to stand.

"What was that, kid?" Logan asked astonished. He looked about the room and realized the others were still standing there, unmoving. He left her side and moved over to Kurt, the look of surprise was still on his face but he didn't move or respond. The others in the doorway were in the same condition, their actions frozen in time.

"What did I do?" she asked tears flowing as she noticed her friends' condition.

"I don't know darling, but I think we should go see the Professor."

She nodded and tried to stand, finding her legs to feel like jell-o and every inch of her screaming out to stop moving and just sleep. Logan noticed her begin to slip down the wall and quickly caught her.

"I feel like I've been in the Danger Room with you for the past 6 hours. All I want to do is sleep."

"Don't sleep, not until we figure this out at least. We've got to figure how to undo this," he told her as he picked her up. Thankful for the exit though the adjoining bathroom, he was able to get by the frozen students and head down to the lab where Beast was already waiting. The Professor arrived a short time later after having looked in on the affected students.

"I see our abilities have finally emerged. I can now understand what Magneto fought for so long to harness," he said to her.

"Professor, I'm not even entirely certain I know what I've done. The others won't move and if I hurt them..."

He interrupted her, "They are not hurt, I assure you. What they appear to be is stopped, frozen, in time."

"So what exactly are we dealing with here Chuck?" Logan asked.

"I believe, our young friend here, can stop time. Not just people, but I would guess it would apply to just about anything and everything. It would seem in this case, you were able to concentrate on just the people about you, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could one day stop it all together, maybe even control it."

Mia was almost white. Time...She could stop time...

"How do I unstop it?" she asked.

"That we will have to figure out. We will also have to discover why Logan here wasn't affected. With some training I'm sure we'll be able to discover just how exactly your abilities work. I'm afraid we'll be working together even more," he said with a chuckle. "For now, I suggest we move upstairs and see what we can do."

She tried to stand and felt wobbly, but managed to stay on her feet."Why do I feel so exhausted?" Do you all get tired after you use yours?" she asked.

Logan moved to take her arm and help her back upstairs. "This may be a side effect of your abilities," Charles commented. "We'll know when we perform some tests. I think tomorrow we'll have to see what it is exactly you can do."

"Why tonight? What made them come out?" Logan asked.

"I was having the strangest nightmare. I saw that wall breaking in my head and all these voices started chasing me. I saw memories, or some of them. Then I woke up and I felt like I was going to explode and I started seeing my hands glow."

"Most likely, what you sensed earlier in the day was a fracture in the wall. It's possible it was breaking and these memories wanted to escape. Add in the additional stresses of the day and I'm not surprised."

"You know already don't you?" Mia asked the Professor.

"That you received a letter from Piotr, yes."

Logan stopped and turned on her, "You got a letter from Pete?"

Mia nodded, "And when were you going to say something?" he asked.

"I only got it today," she admitted.

"How'd you get it, who gave it to you?"

She looked down a bit sheepish, knowing how he was going to respond, "Remy."

"Gambit? Gambit gave you a letter. He could have just taken you. How could you trust him?"

"Logan, now is not the time for this. Right now we need to focus on getting the other students back to normal. We will discuss this more tomorrow," that comment was directed at Mia. She nodded and looked down the rest of the way back to her room.

When they reached her room they noticed the students who had once been frozen were moving again, looking quite confused. Kurt pushed through the others. "There you are! One minute you were zer and the next you were gone! Vhat happened?"

"It would seem Mia has come into her abilities, she didn't disappear but was able to stop time, albeit temporarily. This may be something you'll be able to control, again we'll have to test this out and see. I suggest you all get back to sleep, you have training and school in the morning." The others headed back to their rooms on the Professor's command. "Mia, we'll meet tomorrow and see what we can discover. I know I had said we'd take a break, but I think I'll need to have a look tomorrow."

Mia nodded and he wished her a goodnight before he and Beast headed back to their rooms for the night.

Logan had stayed.

"If you're mad at me just say so," Mia commented. "I'm not mad kid, I can see why you'd want a letter from Pete. But I don't approve of you just trusting that what he's saying is true."

"Piotr's letter told me I could trust him. Remy said Piotr's his friend and he didn't make any sort of move on us. I'm meeting him Friday to send a letter back," she confessed.

"I may have to come with you then."

"He'd love that I'm sure," she yawned. She felt exhausted, "I'm going to turn in, this has drained me."

"No session tomorrow, kid. Get some sleep," he said walking back to his room.

If she wasn't sure she could in fact sleep after everything, she had no idea. Her eyes were closed before she hit the pillow.

During the week she worked with the professor regularly to test out the nuances in her powers. They also discovered that it drained her. After every session she seemed to sleep, the Professor assured her with training, it might not bother her as much. She also discovered that by touching the object she was able to will it to unstop. They hadn't practiced with people yet, but no one was really jumping to volunteer. The harder she focused on the item, the longer it seemed to stop. She hadn't yet figured out how to get something to stop for an exact amount of time, but she came close on a few tries. Logan started incorporating this into their training sessions, throwing objects towards her. She had a few bruises but had managed to stop some of the objects.

While all this was going on, she worked on her letter to Piotr. She had thrown away a few copies by now. The professor had advised her not to mention that she had gotten her abilities and she agreed though she really wanted to tell him.

It was finally Friday and she headed out with Rogue to meet up with Remy. Logan followed, but agreed to stay at a distance at Rogue's request. They approached the part and saw Remy waiting at a bench a little ways in. "Petite, Chere," he said sweeping a bow. Mia pulled an envelope out of her bag and handed it to him. "Thank you for doing this Remy. You sure you won't be caught?" she asked. "Course not. Remy a great thief, petite. Your letter will get to Petey, promise." He flicked a glance up the road. "I see you brought some company."

"He insisted once he found out what was going on. Piotr's letter had a warning," Mia said.

Remy nodded, "Been hearing lots of talk between Magneto and the others. Not sure what they have planned, but I'm pretty sure it involves you, petite. Not sure when we'll be back this way so I can't say when I'll have another letter for ya."

She nodded, "I know, I'm lucky we were able to do this at all. Thank you."

Remy grabbed Rogue's hand a placed a kiss on the back of her gloved one. "And you, chere, been a pleasure seeing you again." Rogue pulled her hand back quickly, cheeks flaming. "Be glad to be rid of ya, swamp rat."

Remy just smiled and headed off into the park before disappearing out of sight. Mia gave Rogue a look of 'I-told-you-so' but Rogue's death glare was enough to silence any comments. They headed back to join Logan and return to the mansion.

_Magneto's Base_

Piotr sat on his bed and opened the letter that Remy had slipped to him. It was dangerous he knew to send a letter in the first place.

_Piotr,_

_I'm glad you are safe and so is your sister. I've been very worried, but your letter makes me feel better. I've made some progress but there is still a lot of work to be done. Some of my memories have returned, but nothing of much importance. My time is filled with a lot of work, but I've made good friends with Rogue and she's teaching me a lot about things I've missed. _

_I can only hope they aren't treating you too harshly and that you're doing well given the circumstances. I miss you. Our room seems so big without you here, but I haven't yet wanted to switch to a room with the other students. I keep hoping you'll be back here soon, and I don't want to give up on that._

_Love,_

_Mia_

Piotr smiled, then put the letter away where it wouldn't be found.

"We will be together again, soon."


	8. Home Again

Chapter 8: You Can Go Home Again (But You May Not Want To.)

With practice and patience, Mia was eventually getting a hold on her powers. There were tests and more tests, both physical and mental. The professor worked with her every day, focusing on the wall in her mind. The memories that had spilled out were scattered, incomplete. He likened it to a box of files being toppled over. They were there, but no longer in order. Some were still locked behind the mental wall, and they took their time working to bring it down. She'd had a few more nightmares; her mind seemed to like to release her memories while she was sleeping. She even saw some of her childhood, vague memories of her father, mother and a younger sister. A trip to the zoo, a visit with grandparents (she could only guess), breaking a wrist after falling from a tree (Beast confirmed that one) and a few other non important moments.

The only trouble she still really had was the exhaustion. She'd fallen asleep on so many occasions she wasn't sure what to do. The effect her abilities had on her weren't normal in her mind. No one else ever seemed this tired. The Professor was constantly reassuring her that she'd build up a tolerance and might not be so tired anymore. However, she was starting to feel that wasn't going to happen. Hank on the other hand had given her another idea.

"_Perhaps it is the magnitude of what your powers entail. All of our abilities are minor things in the scope of being able to control time. That is beyond, in my opinion, the level of what most mutants can do. Perhaps, there is something greater to your abilities, then merely being a mutant."_

Those words had unnerved her.

She headed down the hall towards her room intent on grabbing a nap. The last few times she had dozed off had been uncomfortable. She'd even fallen asleep at the table. As she passed another hallway she noticed Logan and Ororo in discussion. Although, she noted, they were standing awfully close together. Logan noticed her passing and made a small nod in greeting and Mia continued on her way not wanting to interrupt. She could only hope that she saw their interaction for what it was. "_Perhaps if Logan's mind were elsewhere, he'd be less intent on t__raining everyone"_, she grinned.

When she woke it was near dinner. She groaned, she had slept three hours! "No more extra sessions," she mumbled heading towards the bathroom to straighten herself out before dinner. Logan had made her stay longer since Ororo would be late to help her with her lessons. All the extra time spent using her abilities had made her sleep longer. An hour or even two were normal, but three! As she headed into the common room Logan stopped her.

"You've been sleeping all this time?" he asked. She nodded, "I don't think I can keep doing extra sessions. It was too much." Logan gave a bit of a grin, "You can do them, and we'll just stop using your powers for the second half."

She frowned, realizing she had lost that battle.

"Did you need something," she asked.

Logan shrugged, "I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm not around tonight. 'Ro asked me to accompany her into the city for a show." She noticed how he tried to play it off, but there was a small blush on the older man's cheeks.

"Well, I think that's great. You need to get out more Logan."

"Yeah, right. The second I turn my back on this place that's when things happen."

"I think we'll survive without you for one night Logan. Go, have fun. If you're lucky the place will still be standing when you get back."

He reached out and ruffled her hair in annoyance, "Mark my words kid, there better not be a thing outta place when I get back." She swatted his hand and returned her hair to rights.

She grabbed her dinner and settled in next to Rogue, Kitty and Amara. She paid little attention to what the two younger girls were discussing, she still hadn't bothered to go back to the mall since her first trip and that was all they ever seemed to do or talk about. Rogue nudged her, "Hey, I got that movie I was talking to you about yesterday. I figured we'd have a movie night in your room tonight."

"Why my room, I don't have a TV?" Mia asked.

"I'll bring my laptop, we'll watch it on that, but you have Petey's bed, which makes for a nice spot to spread out. I heard some of the others saying they were going to be watching something in the lounge so we lose on that spot. I'll make some popcorn; Kitty said she might join us." Upon hearing her name Kitty turned around, "I like totally forgot, I'm sorry! I promised I'd go with Amara to go bowling tonight."

"That's fine Kitty, we'll watch a movie together some other time. Don't worry about it," Mia told her. She knew Rogue would be somewhat relieved though. Kitty loved to talk through movies, a habit that drove Rogue crazy. She also knew that everyone would be a bit lax with turning in early with Logan and Ororo out of the mansion.

After dinner she spent some time with Jamie who had received a new video game from his family. He had wanted to show her how to play it and how skilled he had gotten at it. She obliged him, not that she cared much for video games, she still hadn't fully grasped how to work things yet. After about an hour of fun she called herself done and headed upstairs to read until Rogue knocked on the door. While Rogue set up the laptop, Mia made popcorn , then they settled themselves on the large bed to enjoy the movie.

"I promise, it aint scary this time," Rogue laughed. The last one Rogue had picked out, Mia had nearly grabbed her in fright. When they were just hanging out watching movies away from the others, Rogue didn't bother to cover up as much. That almost cost her. After that, Rogue decided that maybe they shouldn't watch scary movies alone. This time it was a generic romantic comedy, which Mia enjoyed, though they tended to make her think about Piotr more. They finished the popcorn and the movie and Rogue threw in another one since neither of them felt that tired. She watched about half of the movie before she realized her eyes were drooping, looking over she realized her friend was in a similar condition, already asleep. Mia stared at the screen a bit longer before she went as well.

Mia nearly sat up and screamed when she realized a hand was over her mouth.

"Shhh, petite. It's just Remy," he whispered. It took Mia a moment to register that comment in her haze of sleep. Remy pulled his hand away with a sheepish smile.

"Didn't mean ta scare ya, but Remy didn't want ya screaming," he apologized.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked in as stern of a voice she could muster while whispering. "If Logan finds you…"

Remy interrupted, "If I'm not mistaken, Wolverine is out on the town with Stormie."

Mia glanced at the clock on the nightstand, 1 a.m.; it was possible they were still in the city or on their way home.

"The reason I'm here though is I have another letter." This caught her immediate attention, as he knew it would. "You couldn't wait until I was out of the mansion," she asked as he handed it to her.

"Remy be in town for one night only petite. I'm only passing through; I need a letter back right away if you're looking to send one."

She reached over and turned on the lamp. She went to read the letter but was startled by a sudden outburst.

"What in the hell are you doing here!" Rogue demanded.

Mia turned to quiet Rogue, realizing if anyone heard her they'd come in and find Remy.

As soon as she made contact she realized her mistake.

Mia had grabbed Rogue's arm.

Rogue's arm, wasn't covered.

As soon as Remy realized what was happening he pulled them apart. They'd already been in contact long enough for Rogue to absorb some of her psyche. Mia lay limp on the bed, trying to catch her breath. Rogue was holding her head, trying to keep things calm.

"Chère?" he asked. She shook her head, not wanting to be bothered at the moment. Remy sat and waited until she moved her hands away and started to slow her breathing. He reached out to take her hand and she pulled back, Remy persisted though and took her hand, waving the other one in front of her so she'd see he was wearing gloves. "Ah just didn't want her powers to come out, not sure I could handle 'em," she explained. Remy nodded, "You okay now though?"

She nodded, "It's just hard because her memories are all a mess already, now they're in mah head messing up mine."

Rogue looked over at Mia who had fallen asleep, happy to see her friend was at least breathing. Some of those memories frightened her; she had gained a better understanding of what Mia had gone through.

"Well Remy came to deliver the petite here a letter, need a response right away, now what," he said feeling confused.

"She might wake up, we didn't touch too long," Rogue realized Remy was still holding her hand and pulled away. She reached out and nudged Mia, "You gotta wake up Mia." Mia moaned and rolled over on her side away from Rogue.

Remy tried his luck, "Don't forget I got a letter from Piotr," he told her. Mia rolled back over and forced her eyes open. "Feel like I got hit by a truck," she mumbled.

"Nah, that was just Rogue," Remy told her.

He picked up the letter and handed it back to her. Mia forced herself up and pulled the letter into the light.

_Mia,_

_Remy says he should be able to deliver this second letter. So I can only hope it reaches you._

_It has been hard without my abilities, but I take it as a small payment for the chance to visit with my sister. I see her maybe once a week, they do not allow me to see her often, but knowing she is safe is all that matters right now._

_I hope that you are in the same condition. There has been much movement here, I fear something terrible may happen soon. Again, I do not know their plans. Things are not discussed in front of me. Sabertooth has made some comments in regards to you that only make me worry. Please do not go out alone. I am sure you have been learning much from Logan, I know you will be able to protect yourself, but I feel much better knowing someone is with you. Please tell Logan or Professor Xavier this. _

_I miss you. I am glad you have not given up yet. I hope that my sister and I can rejoin you soon. I have been trying to find a place that the phone will work so that we may at least get to talk. I am not allowed that far out of view though._

_Keep our room ready for me _

_Piotr_

"Remy, have you learned anything else about what might be going on? Piotr keeps saying that something is in the works but he doesn't know what."

Remy shook his head, "Sorry petite. Remy 'aint that high up in Mag's ranks. Most of that is done with Sabertooth and Mystique. They've been redoing a lot of things at the base though that makes me curious. Magneto's got plenty of mutants there that aren't part of his group."

Rogue frowned, "Ya mean he's got lots of prisoners?"

"Something like that Chère. Used to be all locked up, now he's got a floor they all live on, like a dorm. They all wear inhibitors, somethin' to block their powers."  
"I was there for so long and I never saw anyone. Just people who worked for Magneto," Mia said.

"And that is how it used to be. No one ever saw anyone else. Made them think they were alone. There were always lots of people there, petite, even when you were from what I hear. Most weren't on the same floor. Now everyone is, even us. Magneto moved most of his work to another floor so now Remy don't see what's goin' on most of the time."

"Is he, are they experimenting on these mutants?" Mia asked cautiously.

"Remy think so petite, sorry to say. Not sure all of them. Sometimes, there are some you just don't see for so long it makes ya wonder." She nodded, she wasn't terribly surprised. It made her curious if he had been conducting similar tests on other mutants during her stay.

"Ya need to write me a letter now though, petite, if you be wantin' me to take one. Remy has to get goin'," he told her.

She nodded and crossed the room to her nightstand where she knew she had some paper and a pen. She bit the end of the pen as she debated what to write. Looking across the room she noticed Remy trying to get Rogue riled up a bit. Her color was already high and Mia had only walked away a minute ago. Remy was quick.

She finally set pen to paper.

_Piotr,_

_I'm sorry this note is short, but Remy only had a few minutes for me to write. _

_I will tell Logan and the Professor about what you told me. Remy doesn't seem to know much either but told me there are more mutants there then I had known before. I'm hoping this is useful for the Professor. I'm not allowed to go out alone, so you don't need to worry about that. I am glad that you are getting time to spend with your sister. I am sure she missed you just as I do now. I will keep our room waiting (Rogue and I are currently borrowing your bed for a movie night). There are so many things I want to tell you but can't in a letter. I am only worried about what would happen if this is caught._

_So I will just have to tell you that I miss you and hope you are safe and also hope you are back here soon. I can't wait to meet your sister and to tell you about everything you have missed here._

_Love, _

_Mia _

When she was finished she handed the note off to Remy. "Alright petite, not sure when I'll be coming through again. Magneto aint been telling me anything until a day or two before he sends me out. But Remy will try to get another one too ya."  
"Thanks Remy, I really appreciate it. It makes things easier at least knowing he's safe."

Remy nodded, "I should get out before Logan get's back. He aint gonna be too happy when he knows I've been here." He made a flourish of a bow. "It was a pleasure to grace your bedroom tonight ladies," he said with a wink to Rogue who turned red again. Mia could only wonder what they had actually discussed while she was writing. He headed back to the balcony and they watched him disappear into the night.

Mia went over and locked the balcony door. Rogue yawned, "I'm gonna return to mah room. Can't believe ah went to sleep. We can finish that movie another time." She gathered up the laptop and headed to the door.

"Night Rogue."

Mia woke late the next morning. By the time she got downstairs breakfast was pretty much over and only a few stragglers remained. One of which was Logan. She grabbed some cereal and plunked down across from him.

"And just what time did you get in last night?" she asked jokingly. Logan huffed, "Last time I checked I was the adult, kid."

The show had been good, they had gone out to dinner then around the city. It was probably almost 3 am by the time they had made it back to the mansion. Logan didn't need much sleep though, and had been up long before most of the students.

"And just why are you coming to breakfast so late?"

"Rogue and I were up late watching movies," she explained. Logan grunted and returned to his food. When Mia finished up she cleaned up her dishes then headed up to Rogue's room. Rogue wasn't inside but Mia helped herself to her computer. The Professor had told her he would work on getting one for her as well but in the meantime Rogue had given her permission to use hers. After a few minutes she felt bored, she was listless. After Rogue had gone to bed Mia had tried for some time to fall asleep without success. Piotr's letter made her uneasy. She sighed and closed the laptop. As she was sitting there she felt the sudden presence of the Professor.

She rose and headed down to his office. "Come in."

Mia entered his office and took a seat in front of the desk. His desk was full of papers and a large manila folder sat on the top. She saw her name scribbled along the tab.

"You needed me professor?"

"Mia, I called you in today because there is something of importance that I wanted to bring up to you," the Professor started. "It has come to my attention in my searches that you do indeed have family still living."

Mia's eyes were wide, then became scrunched as she fought through her mind for any memories, "I see glimpses some times of people, people that I feel are my family. They're mostly bits and pieces, my parents and I think I have a sister."

The professor nodded then pulled out a manila file. When he opened it before her she saw a photo. "It would seem that you still have a mother and a younger sister, in what I suspect is the house you grew up in. Her address hasn't changed in years."

Mia studied the photo but couldn't pull out any obvious resemblances but hair color and perhaps build. It looked like it had been a picture for a driver's license or a passport and there was no picture of a sister who she hoped maybe she shared more of a resemblance to.

"So, what now?" she asked.

"That is your decision. I can contact them, or you may if you prefer, or you can choose to do nothing. Your disappearance has been about 10 years now and they have moved on as have you in your time here. This isn't a decision I want you to rush into, it could possibly add more complications to your life and reopen wounds long healed. Think about it and get back to me when you feel ready."

Mia nodded and took the file with her at the Professors suggestion. In it had been other documents, marriage licenses, birth certificates. She was surprised, _almost_, at the amount of information the Professor could tap into. As she flipped through the pages at the patio table, Logan came by and joined her.

"So what do you think?"

"I can never surprise you with anything can I Logan?" she commented but with a slight smile on her face.

"Chuck let me know what he had found," Logan admitted.

"So what do you think I should do?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, then you're no help are you."

He smiled and looked at the few papers Mia had already flipped through, "You look nothing like her."

"I thought the same thing. There are no other pictures though to give me any idea of others in the family," she flipped through another set of papers, "I guess she got remarried." There was a recent marriage license, about four years old amongst the papers. This forced her to flip through the others until the document she was looking for came to her attention. She read through it a number of times before handing it over to a curious Logan.

"Death certificate," he murmured looking over the paper. It would be the death certificate of her father. Xavier had stated the only living relatives were her mother and sister.

"What'd you say you were ten?" he asked.

It took her a moment before her mind caught up to the question, "Yeah, I was ten when I disappeared I think."

"Then this happened that same year," he pointed out. She took the paper back and went over the dates in her mind. Logan took the file and went through more. He pulled out another set and read them over.

"If I were you," he started, "I'd meet your family."

"Why?" she asked taking the papers.

"Because according to this police report, you were in the car with him during the accident, and no one has seen you since."

She must have gone over those papers a hundred times that night and had even written out notes on the small white-board on her wall. How could she have just disappeared from a car accident? She couldn't even blame it on her abilities for she didn't have them then. Had she gotten disoriented and walked away before anyone had arrived? Did her father leave her someplace and not tell her mother, the one who claimed she had been in the car.

None of it made complete sense, and she was determined to figure all of it out. She made up her mind and told the Professor the following morning allowing him to make the call. She felt ill prepared to make the call herself and knew she'd probably jump right into questioning.

It would be two days before Xavier finally called her into his office to let her know the news.

"I've explained the situation, they are hesitant understandably, but not unwilling. You will be going this weekend." It was currently Wednesday, that meant she at least still had a couple days to prepare herself.

"You may choose who you want to accompany you if you like, a chaperon. I'm afraid I won't be able to go myself, but your family stated this was the best weekend for them at the moment and I knew you'd rather want to do this sooner than later."

"I'd like Logan, if he'll go," she stated. Xavier nodded, expecting that answer.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Check with him and if he doesn't mind then you can leave Friday after your training is done in the morning."

They talked a bit longer about what he had told her mother and how she should handle questions about the school and its members before she was allowed to seek out Logan.

She found him outside in the garden smoking one of his cigars. The Professor had been on him lately about smoking inside the manor with the students and he eventually caved, most of the time.

"Hey darlin'."

"Can you ever let me sneak up on you for once?" she frowned.

"When you get better in your training, maybe you will one day," he joked.

"Until then I have a favor to ask of you," she told him, scrunching her nose at the scent of the cigar smoke that drifted her way.

"What?"

"I need a chaperon, as the Professor put it," his eyebrow quirked, "To take me to see my family this weekend," she finished.

"Sure kid, I'm a bit curious myself."

A couple days later they found themselves in the car on their way. It would only take about five hours by car and seemed a less intimidating arrival then a jet. Logan joked it would also give her time to change her mind. During the drive she continued to look over the papers between dozing and staring out the window.

"You're quiet even for yourself kid."

"What if it doesn't go well?" she asked quietly.

"They wanted to meet with you, I think that's the first hurdle already cleared. Just don't jump into all the hard stuff right away, make nice today and ask your questions tomorrow," he suggested.

She nodded and turned her attention back out the window, running every possibility through her mind.

She was startled out of a light doze when Logan announced they were there. She looked at the house they were parked in front of but found herself disappointed when it didn't set anything off in her mind.

"I don't remember it," she frowned.

"Maybe that'll change when you get in there. Are you ready?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself nodding.

They approached the door and Mia hit the doorbell and waited. What really only took seconds felt like an eternity and the thought to run away almost won out if Logan hadn't been standing right behind her.

When the door opened Mia found herself looking at the face of her mother. She looked exactly like the picture and stood a few inches taller than Mia. She was smiling, but Mia wasn't sure if it was nervousness or actual happiness. The woman took a moment to regard Logan standing behind her before looking back to Mia.

"It really is you," the woman almost whispered. She ushered them in the house.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, and it's just that when I got that phone call, well it's been a number of years you see. It just seemed, well, so unlikely. But I'd have to recognize you anywhere. You never did look like me, you look like your grandmother, see?" Mia was handed a photo and quickly noted that she did indeed have a strong resemblance. "That's your father's mother, not mine," she quickly added. Mia glanced around the room and looked at the other photos on the wall, another girl, who must be her sister, seemed to be in most of them. Recent wedding photos hung on the wall and she could make out an older wedding photo sitting on another shelf.

"I'm sorry; I've done all this talking without you saying a word. I'm afraid I tend to babble so you can cut me off at any point. And you are?" she asked turning to Logan.

"This is Mr. Logan; he's one of the teachers at the boarding school I've been staying at. He accompanied me for the trip," Mia told her making sure to follow the Professors instructions. Even if it did feel odd calling him "Mr." Logan for his part merely grunted a hello.

"Well come sit down, I'm sure it's been a long trip. I'll be right back out."

She disappeared into the kitchen and emerged a few moments later with a tray of drink and snacks.

"There we are, now why don't you tell me all about this school you're at. I'm amazed that a boarding school just takes people in."

"Professor Xavier takes many of his students in, whether they just happen upon there or not. There are many students there and it really is a wonderful place. He makes many resources available to the students that they might not have themselves," Mia explained, although it wasn't far from the truth. What student had a Danger Room or a jet at their disposal?

"Well that sounds like a wonderful place, and I admit he did sound very nice over the phone. What do you teach Mr. Logan?"

"Phys. Ed," Mia quickly supplied.

Her mother smiled then went across the room returning with a small box that had been sitting on a chair.

"Now I'm sure you must have a lot of questions, as do I, and I hope some of this might answer them for you. Mr. Xavier had said you don't remember a lot, is that true?"

"Yes, I've had occasional flashes of memory but nothing much. I admit I don't really feel like I recognize this house or even you much."

"I'm not too surprised you don't remember the house, we had only lived here about two years before your disappearance. Actually our first house is only down the road, so maybe you can go by it later and see if that sparks any memories. In the meantime I've found a bunch of the older photo albums and a few of your other things. I know there is more but unfortunately that attic is so disorganized since I remarried. He had so much stuff," she told her.

Her mother opened the box and pulled out a baby book handing it to her.

"Now obviously you're not going to remember being a baby but it's always a nice thing to look over. And what better way to start then at the beginning."

They talked for hours until Mia thought she knew every little bit about her family. The pictures of her father sparked some memory, although she couldn't say what. She saw photos of her childhood, her and her sister, friends she couldn't remember, school photos, old artwork and few knick knacks that had been saved. Her mother let her look over all the stuff while she went and put dinner in the oven.

Logan scooted in next to her on the couch and looked through a bunch of photos himself.

"So how do you feel about all of this?" he asked looking at another photo album.

"It's a bit overwhelming, a lot of information. But I can't really put my finger on any of it except," she pulled out one photo of her and her father, "except him. I remember him but its only for a moment. I saw him dying Logan. This is that memory; I know it, of the car crash. But that's all I can recall of it. There was this terrible look on his face, I can remember being scared, and then that's it."

Logan sighed, "It was traumatic, and your mind probably didn't want you to remember."

She nodded, she had considered that, but it felt like too much was missing.

"Do you think I should ask tonight, or still wait?"

"I'd wait, let's see what else comes of tonight. It might help you with those questions."

When her mother returned she picked up where she had left off about her sister and few of her recent accomplishments. She finished off with a tour of the house, but like before nothing struck Mia as memorable.

"My husband is away for the weekend but your sister should be home shortly from her practice, so you'll be able to talk to her a bit tonight. She was a bit young when you disappeared, about six, so she recalls some memories of you sometimes but not too many. But maybe she can help you remember a little."

Mia couldn't resist asking one of her questions, "How old was I?"

"You were ten dear."

"Well then I've remembered about one thing right so far."

They had returned to the kitchen where the two sat while her mother finished preparations for dinner. A short time later the door opened and she heard a clunk of bags and a shuffle of shoes before a girl with a slight resemblance stood in the doorway. She was probably an inch taller than Mia, though barely noticeable; her hair was pulled back but fell about halfway down her back. She was currently dressed in gym clothes and looked a bit disheveled.

"Natalie, you're covered in dirt. Go wash up, you can properly greet our guests when you're clean," her mother ordered.

The name didn't call out any familiarity unfortunately and the younger girl gave a brief smile in her direction before following orders to wash up.

"Between the two of you, your sister was always the tomboy. She would be out there playing sports with your father all evening. I think he was always disappointed he never had a son, but was happy when Natalie showed such an interest in sports. You never cared for them, I'd usually find you somewhere reading or drawing. Now she's on every which sports team she can be, I can barely keep up with them all. But she does real well and we're hoping she'll get a scholarship for one of them if she keeps from breaking things. So far she's up to her ankle and an arm, a few fingers and at least five trips for stitches. She's hell on the field, but it scares the death out of me at times," her mom filled her in.

When her sister rejoined the group they sat down to dinner. Her mother's description of her sister was fairly accurate and a good part of her conversation focused on the sports she was playing, how she was doing in school, her friends, the typical teenage conversation. Natalie brought up some of the memories she had of Mia but when none of them seemed to resonate in Mia's mind she quickly gave up then turned to asking questions.

"So where were you after you disappeared?"

Mia was actually caught by surprise from the question. She noticed her mother's face almost seemed pale. It then dawned on her that such a question had not come up at all during the time with her mother. It seemed a very appropriate and important question to ask and she hadn't.

Mia quickly filled her sister in remembering the speech the Professor had given her. _'Not too much information but not too little, nothing that would be hard to recall if needed. Sticking closest to the truth makes it easier to r__emember and to tell.'_

"I was all over really, home to home. I'm afraid there is so much of it I don't really recall. I was fortunate enough to meet up with someone familiar with the school that convinced me to try there for help. Having so little information to go on had made it so hard to find out much about myself you see. Professor Xavier fortunately had the resources to be able to help me find out more about myself and track you both down."

She answered more of her sister's questions about the school, how many students, what it was like to live there, but most of it was pleasantries. Her sister was so familiar with public school she wasn't sure a private one was all that interesting. She disliked the idea of living where she went to school. Telling her otherwise would give away the 'boarding school' cover so she just smiled and nodded.

After dinner was over Logan announced that they would be leaving for the night, feigning tiredness from the travel. She knew Logan was far from tired, but she was a bit actually, and she was ready to have some quiet time to sort some things out in her mind. They arranged to come back the following day and would stay another if it seemed like it was necessary but Mia wasn't sure she could handle another.

Logan drove around a bit before finding a hotel and got a room then headed out to smoke a cigar and returned with a bunch of junk food. Mia had made herself at home on one of the two beds and flipped through the channels on the television finding nothing interesting and decided to sift through the papers once more.

"I don't know what else you're expecting to find in there kid, you've been through them a hundred times," he told her stealing the remote and flipping through the channels on his own before finding something that amused him.

"Did anything there strike you as odd?" she questioned.

"Like what? Your mother babbles a lot, she seemed nervous, you sister seemed fine though neither seemed overly excited," he pointed out.

"That I picked up on, but when I looked around there were no photos of me or my father save for an old wedding photo I noticed. It's like in that house, we didn't exist."

"She might have put a lot of that away, been hurt after your disappearance. Maybe she put away a lot of your dad's photos when she got remarried."

"That's possible, but really I think if I lost a child I'd have at least a picture out somewhere. I didn't even see one in her bedroom or my sisters. Then there was one other thing. She never asked me where I'd been."

Logan nodded, "Your sister did, but we'd been there hours by then. Your mother seemed scared when your sister asked that. Maybe she didn't want to ask you? The Professor didn't tell her anything about where you'd been though."

"I just feel like that's odd in and of itself. If someone was missing for almost ten years you'd ask them where they've been. It's commonsense. I say tomorrow, we go in there with our questions, because today not a lot of them have been answered. In fact I feel like I have more."

"Get some sleep. We'll head over there after breakfast. I'm guessing though that you're not too interested in staying?" he asked.

"I'll probably be ready to head home tomorrow. I don't know as if I can take another day," she told him.

"I meant staying, like staying with your family," he told her looking at her from his bed. She sat up at that, "It hadn't crossed my mind. They don't exactly feel like my family, at least not yet. Why? Did you think I was going to?"

"The Professor said it was your choice. We didn't know if any memories would resurface or how things might go. You have a chance to have a family again kid, there's quite a few people back in that mansion that would give anything to have that same chance. It's up to you though."

She mulled that over in her mind, wondering if Logan was including himself in that comment.

"Maybe one day, they'll be my family again. Right now though, I don't think any of us are ready."

Mia spent the night in a restless sleep. Glimpses of memories would invade her mind and fade suddenly giving her no chance to remember them upon waking. She was sure the emotional stress was taking its toll on her mind. She woke up early to hear the shower running and was nearly disappointed in the fact that she finally had an extra morning to sleep in without training and still woke up. After they packed up their stuff they grabbed some breakfast at a local diner then headed back over to her house. On the way they stopped outside the house that her mother said they grew up in. Again, nothing really struck her familiar and they finished the drive to the house.

When they arrived her mother once again greeted her and Mia instantly requested that they sit and talk.

"I just have a lot of questions and wanted to ease into them a bit. I hope you don't mind," she said.

Her mother seemed to stiffen but nodded in agreement.

"How did the accident happen?" The police report had given the story that they had constructed but Mia could only wonder if her mother had other answers.

"Your father had taken you to the library. Some school report, I don't remember what for now, but you needed some books so he agreed to take you after dinner. It had been raining and the officers said the car had most likely hydroplaned. It went into a tree. They said he had a heart attack though they weren't certain if that's what made him go off the road or if it was from the accident itself," she stopped there and let the silence speak for the aftermath. Mia nodded, but was disappointed that the story seemed to shed no new light.

"I'm sorry dear, I'm sure you wish I had more answers but in reality your disappearance is a great mystery to us. You were in that car, unless your father dropped you off somewhere. At first that's what everyone hoped. We thought maybe he had left you at the Library while he ran some errand so that was the first place we checked. But they told us you left with him. They searched for weeks but there was no sign of you, the police were baffled. Eventually they called off the search."

Mia realized without her mother having much knowledge of the accident a lot more of her questions would go unanswered.

"Why don't I get us something to drink," her mother suggested. Logan excused himself to step outside and smoke a cigar, giving Mia a chance to regroup in private.

As he was outside smoking a man pulled into the driveway and exited the car. Logan recognized him from pictures that this was the man whom Mia's mother had recently married.

The man regarded him strangely for a moment, and then acted as if he remembered.

"You're here with Angela's daughter correct?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's inside with her mother. Aren't you supposed to be away?" Logan asked.

"I was able to wrap up my meetings early, I'm glad; I had really wanted to meet her daughter."

The man passed by Logan to enter the house when something caught Logan's attention.

"You...your smell," he growled extending his claws. Logan turned to strike when the man ran up the door instead of entering it and escaped his strike.

When he landed Logan watched as clothes turned to flesh and became blue.

"Mystique."

"Wolverine," she acknowledged with a twisted smile. Logan turned as screams erupted from the house. Mia's powers were still shaky at best and he knew she wouldn't be able to defend herself for long. He lunged at Mystique and hoped he'd be able to get inside in time.

Mia had been sitting on the couch when it happened. She wasn't sure what it was at first but this familiar presence seemed to take over the house. She suddenly realized the objects around her, the metallic objects she noted, were floating. Mia took a defensive stance when she heard a scream from the kitchen. She ran in and found her mother being held by Sabertooth. Magneto stood nearby with a smirk on his face. Suddenly objects began flying at her left and right. She quickly stopped the smaller objects as best she could with her abilities. She saw her mother looking aghast; this was the part she wasn't sure she would have ever brought up.

Some of the objects connected with her and she knew they'd leave bruises, but she was able to stop the majority of them.

"Impressive," he stated before letting the larger items fly. Pots and pans connected but she was more concerned with a few sharper objects that came her way. She was getting tired, but tried to remember her training and turned to defensive moves instead of her powers for a short time. She hadn't seen Logan at all and figured he must have been detained outside.

"I see you've finally come into your powers, about time," he commented.

"Just in time I'd say, wasn't quite expecting the company," she countered.

Suddenly someone came flying in through the window taking out the glass and most of the kitchen table. Mia's breath caught in her throat, she never expected she would have to fight him so soon.

"Piotr," she whispered. Piotr shook off the pieces of glass and wood and stood up to approach her. Magneto made a move with his hand and Piotr found himself stopped.

"What would you have me do with him my dear? Care to fight the man who gave up so much for you? Stand down and I'll release him."

Mia found her stance lax as she looked him over. Was Logan fighting him? How could he when he knew what Piotr had risked to free her? She even began to wonder if Piotr was under his own control or that of Magneto's.

"Let him go," she told him. She knew she didn't have the strength to stop them all but she might at least be able to stop Magneto. She had to get him to drop his hold on Piotr first.

"Very well my dear," his hand lowered and Mia cautiously stepped over to Piotr's side keeping her eye close on Magneto. Piotr dusted himself off a bit more but didn't move towards her.

"Piotr are you alright? I've been so worried," she whispered. He nodded, "I'm fine, but you mustn't turn your back on Magneto," he whispered back. Mia turned to look back over at Magneto, "I know."  
"I don't think you understand," he told her.

Mia was puzzled, "What?"

Logan suddenly busted through the door, "Mystique!" he hollered. Mia turned around just in time to see blue then nothing.

Logan growled and bounded through the dining room claws drawn and aimed at Mystique. Magneto stepped forward and extended his hand stopping Logan in his tracks. Logan for his part did his best to resist but Magneto had the upper hand. He watched as Mystique clasped something onto Mia's wrist before producing another one and stepping over to Logan.

"We've a special one made just for you," Magneto joked while Mystique secured one on Logan as well. He suddenly felt pain throughout his body but especially in his hands. He saw the blood seeping out through the cuts on his body.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's called an Inhibitor. Like it? I made it myself. I'm sure you've noticed by now that your healing ability isn't helping you any. So extend your claws all you like but you'll only be hurting yourself."

Magneto gave a nod and Sabertooth released Mia's mother and went over and picked up Mia. He gave Logan a smug grin of satisfaction, holding the girl close to him.

"Touch her and I'll find a way to kill you," Logan told him.

Magneto stepped between the two, "Take her to the car. My dear, Angela, I'm sorry about the troubles and I'll be sure to help you with the repairs, financially of course."  
Angela nodded a bit taken aback, "All those years ago, you told me you had taken care of her. I didn't realize you were one of them yourself," she spat.

"She was gone, that was all that mattered to you," he reminded her.

"Not at the cost of my husband," she told him.

"You told me you wanted her gone at all costs if I remember correctly. If you didn't want others to die perhaps you should have been more specific in your requests."

Her mother seethed, "Get out of my house, I am through with mutants. If you're taking her again this time, you'd do better to keep her from escaping."

Logan watched the exchange, "So, I'm to guess you knew exactly where she disappeared to?"

Angela turned to look at the man who was still hanging in Magneto's grasp.

"She was a mutant, she was better off out of this house," her mother replied.

"If you knew what he had been doing to her you'd think otherwise," Logan was gasping by now at the pain but did his best to retain his composure.

Her mother's face softened a bit, "I did what was best to protect my family."

"She is your family!" he yelled.

Magneto nodded towards Mystique who struck a blow across Logan's head. Without his healing factor he succumbed easily.

Mystique shape-shifted into a larger form and carried Logan out to the awaiting van.

"We'll be out of your hair now my dear, and this time, hopefully for good."


	9. It Takes a Thief

Logan could feel nothing but pain. The feeling wasn't new to him but the fact that it was actually lasting for long periods of time was. His knuckles were scabbing over and the cut on his forehead throbbed. Other places would be bruised and swollen, already his legs felt stiff and his one arm was numb. The source of that numbness was lying upon his arm. Mia lay facing him, a bruise visible across her face where Mystique had struck her. Logan did his best to sit up and move his arm out from under her without disturbing her. He shook his arm and waited for the feeling to return.

The room they were in was small. There was the bed, a desk and chair and a small television. He spotted another door and was relieved to find a bathroom. Logan did his best to wash off as much of the blood and sweat that had stuck to him from the fight and noted there were a few bandages stowed away under the sink. He was in the middle of wrapping his knuckles up when he heard the screams.

Mia could hear the shower running and turned over in her sleep. Logan would be in the shower, she'd wait her turn, and then they'd go see her mother. She opened her eye to search out the alarm clock and bolted straight up. Logan had already taken a shower, and she had already been to see her mother, that had already happened. They were attacked, she finally remembered, but looking about brought back different memories.

"No," she whispered.

It was her room, or what was her room, her prison really. She was back.

Tears began pouring down her face as anger set in. She was supposed to be heading back to the school. She was supposed to be working on her lessons, practicing with Logan, watching movies with Rogue and learning games from Jaime. This was all wrong.

She got up and started pulling on the door, then banging on it when that failed. She finally grabbed the chair and screamed as she threw it into the door. The wood shattered and splinters fell in front of her but she didn't relent. She screamed again and threw the chair at it again until Logan emerged from the bathroom and grabbed it from her.

"Kid! Stop it! What the hell has gotten into you?" he demanded throwing the rest of the chair back against the floor and moving her towards the bed.

"This is it Logan! This is my room, we're at Magneto's. I'm back. After everything I ended up back here," she sobbed. Logan moved forward and wrapped his arms around her as she cried. She hadn't said much about her time with Magneto. The Professor knew, but kept her in his confidence and had only revealed to Logan what was important. Ten years in this small room, he couldn't imagine.

"Don't worry kid. I'm sure the Professor knows where we are and he'll get us out of here. Piotr had to have known where this place was and told him before he left."

She could only nod as she fought to catch her breath.

When Logan and Mia failed to return, Xavier had attempted to contact her mother but the phone was never answered. His search through Cerebro failed as well.

"I am certain that Magneto has taken them. He is the only one who knows how to shield himself from Cerebro. Logan and Mia must be back at his base," the Professor had explained. Scott, Jean, Ororo and Beast had all convened in his office upon his request. Logan was certain they would return no later than Sunday night and when they had not returned by Monday morning the Professor had set out in search of them. Logan's cell phone had gone unanswered throughout the day, which was when he knew to be worried.

"Where's the base Professor?" Jean asked.

"Piotr was able to give me a general location; it's in a highly wooded area along the Canadian border. But he was able to give me the name of the nearest town which he said was a few hours walk from the base. However, I wish to try to get in contact with Magneto first to see if anything can be arranged. I'd rather not put everyone at risk if we can avoid it. I happen to know a couple of his employees are nearby, perhaps they could be of some help to us."

That was how Rogue found herself dragged out of the mansion and into the streets of Bayville. She frowned the entire trip knowing exactly what Jean was up to.

"We just need to find them Rogue. Let's face it; you have a habit of attracting Gambit."

"Damn Swamp Rat," she mumbled.

"Look. I got the Professor to agree to this, and Scott wasn't thrilled it was going to be just the two of us as well. I need your help on this. I want it to all stay as peaceful as possible. Because if anything happens I am going to be stuck living this down for a while."

Rogue sighed, even though her and Jean didn't always get along, she was her friend. And it would be nice to show Scott that they didn't always need him.

"Fine, fine. But that Gambit touches me and I can't promise to be on my best behavior."

Jean smiled happy to have her cooperation. She had decided they would hit a few places in town that Rogue usually frequented.

They had wandered around town for nearly half an hour with no sign of Remy. Rogue decided they should change their tactic, "Maybe we should try where they would be."

It didn't take long to find them in a small back alley pool hall where they were busy hustling people. Rogue squared her shoulders and walked up to Remy.

"Well, well, Chère. Dis be a very pleasant surprise."

"We," she said nodding her head over towards Jean's direction, "need to speak with you. Privately." John stepped forward, "We're in the middle of something here, sheila. It'll just have to wait."

Jean chose to step forward, "No. It won't. If you know what's best for you, you'll come with us, now."

"Ain't no reason you be needing us. We aren't about to be bossed around by you," John countered.

Rogue turned her gaze back to Remy, "What's going on Chère?" he asked.

"Mia and Logan are missing."

That had made Remy's brows shoot up. If he had been shocked about it, then they hadn't been let in on the scheme. Remy quickly settled their game, and then followed the girls out with John in tow. They headed over to a small coffee house and took a table outside.

"Can't believe old Mags would do that without telling us," John grumbled.

Remy nodded, "I know he's been keeping us out of the loop a bit, only Mystique and Sabertooth are really in the know. Remy don't think he trusted us much."

"We need to know exactly where the base is, so we can find them. They've had them for at least a full day by now. The Professor wants to get in contact with Magneto, try to arrange for him to release them."

"With as much work as Mags has put into da petite over the years I don't think he's going to give her up too freely. The Wolverine is a big catch as well. Plus with his inhibitors he's probably got their powers disabled. They won't be able to fight him. There's any number of mutants in that place now, he had a few more when I was back there the other day, but without their powers they can't rise up against him. But Remy'll help you with the location. Then I think its best Remy head back up there, check on them. John you can stay down here, so we have a contact."

John frowned, "Last I checked, mate, we work for Magneto."

But even Remy could tell that he hadn't said it with any endearment towards Magneto. "I know. But Remy thinks it's time we moved on from dis. Mags don't even bother with us most of the time. You can do what ya like, homme. But Remy be done."

John stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Count me in then I guess. Was getting bored anyway."

Jean nodded, "Good. Then I think you should come back to the mansion with us and talk to the Professor."

Remy smiled, "Well, at least we don't have da Wolverine there to worry about."

Jean warned the Professor they were on their way. Their reception at the mansion would be frosty at best. She walked them into the Professors office where a few of the others sat waiting. She had to admit though, she was very proud of herself despite the look on Scott's face.

"Welcome gentlemen. I thank you for joining us."

"No problem," Remy said. "Piotr is a good friend of Remy's. He would be upset with me if I didn't do anything to help da petite." He also hoped it would help him with Rogue, although he wanted to kick himself for thinking that around a bunch of telepaths. The Professor smiled, "How do we know you can be trusted to help?" That was Scott, of course.

"You'll have to make dat decision for yourself, non? But Remy been helping Petey and da petite send letters to each other for a while now. Not something you would be doing if you were out to hurt someone." That was no surprise to Rogue and the Professor but the others hadn't known.

"So you know where the base is?" Ororo asked.

"Oui. Remy should explain dat even though we've been dere, we're not allowed access to a number of places within da compound. Mags has gotten very secretive lately. Only Mystique and Sabertooth have been told plans."

Remy continued to explain as much about the compound as he could. Its location made it difficult to access by car. Helicopter was Magneto's main conveyance. He went on about the number of mutants suddenly housed there, without much of an explanation from Magneto. He only ever used one entrance, but Piotr would know more he concluded. His best chance would be to get to Piotr then relay any information he could gather. Then he could also check in on Logan and Mia if he could locate them.

"Remy not supposed to check in for about another week. But perhaps we come up with a reason I need to be dere."

Charles nodded, "I will give you a letter I wish for you to deliver to Magneto. You can come up with how it ended up in your hands. That would be reason enough to go. John, you are welcome to remain here, so that we have someone he can communicate quickly with. I will also supply you with a phone Remy. I do not want to launch any sort of attack if it can be avoided. Although I'm not certain that will be possible. I believe Magneto will not make a move to harm them just yet. It is too late in the day to ask you to go now. But I suggest we plan and hope to have you on your way sometime tomorrow if that is agreeable with you?"

Remy agreed and they sat for a while longer deciding on their plans. Charles would write the letter tonight. In the meantime they were invited to remain at the mansion, much to the chagrin of Scott. He was projecting that thought quite loudly before the Professor mentally quieted him. Remy agreed to stay, but John decided he would prefer to be back at their lodgings. This way if Magneto did contact them at least one of them would be there. He would stay for the afternoon and dinner though he agreed.

Remy smiled, that would give him a decent amount of time with Rogue. When they were released from the office, he made sure to fall in step with her.

"What are ya doing?" she asked him as she realized he was about to follow her up the steps. "Well, seeing as how we have some time, Remy thought he'd spend it with you Chère." Rogue rolled her eyes, "There's plenty you can be doing without me Swamp Rat." She continued on up the stairs and stopped again when she heard him behind her. She sighed, Remy smiled, "You ain't givin' up are ya?" she asked. Remy shook his head.

"Fine, fine. We'll find something to do. But one wrong move and I'm warning ya." He gave her a grin, "Promise, Remy be on his best behavior." Rogue frowned, "Well, come on then," she headed back down the steps. Remy looked back up, "We're not going up dere now?" Rogue stopped on the bottom and glared at him, "And let you near my room? Hardly." She huffed and headed down a hallway knowing he would quickly catch up.

As it was, she would certainly have to say he was on his best behavior. Mostly. She took him to the game room and soon they settled into a few rounds of billiards and then moved on to darts. She was surprised when he declined to make it a competition. She was more concerned when he didn't try anything when they were alone. And she almost hated to admit she was bothered that he hadn't called her "Chère" once since they'd started playing. They were getting along, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

After supper John headed back to their apartment. Remy felt kind of bad he left him alone most of the day but John didn't seem any worse for wear. In fact, he seemed to have made a couple friends of his own. "Good luck mate. I'll see you soon," he said as they parted. "This ain't gonna end peacefully," Remy stated. John shook his head, "Nah. Never can with Mags involved can it. Sure it'll be a good fight at least." And with that he was gone.

Remy stepped back into the foyer and shut the door. Rogue was standing there off to the side after listening to the exchange. "How bad do you think it's gonna be?" Remy considered the question for a moment, "Bad, but worse then anything you guys have already gone through? Maybe not. Remy never knows with Magneto." Rogue nodded but didn't seem too comforted by his words. He strode over to her and put his hands on her arms, her flinch was imperceptible but Remy caught it. "We'll get 'em back. They'll be fine. This is Logan you're talkin' about. It takes a lot to take him down. He'll keep her safe."

She nodded and he was glad to see she wasn't shrinking from his touch. "She's been my best friend. There's so much we talked about doing together, and Logan, he's, well, he's Logan. That might not make much sense, but he's always been there and I don't know how to be when he's not." Her eyes were welling up with tears she was trying not to release. She didn't want him to see her like that. She was always so tough in front of him. Remy stepped closer and for a moment she began to panic. But he was in his coat, his arms thoroughly covered, his gloves still on his hands. He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her, careful not to touch what little skin was showing. He wasn't afraid of her, and that's perhaps what undid her. The tears came freely now and she found her hands holding fistfuls of his coat. She knew now that she wouldn't live this down when it came to him, that she had shown him a side of her she hadn't meant to.

But perhaps, her mind bleakly thought, that was alright.

In the morning Remy gathered what few things he had to take with him. The Professor had given him a bag and some money for his trip. Tucked away in his pocket was the letter for Magneto. In his bag was an entirely different letter for Mia. Rogue had slipped it to him after an early breakfast. He had to be on his way quickly and he was surprised to see her up with the couple others who were seeing him off. After she had calmed down last night she had quickly apologized and pulled away. Remy had let her go, knowing she needed time. It was better not to push her when a probable battle loomed ahead.

"If you don't hear from me within a couple days, then expect that I ain't able to leave," he told the Professor. Xavier nodded, "We'll be ready in case. I hope it won't come down to that, but only time will tell." Remy nodded and made his farewells, casting a look towards Rogue. She made sure she was the last to say good-bye. "Don't go getting yourself hurt, Swamp Rat." He smiled, she used to say that name with a harshness to it, but now it sounded endearing. "I won't Chère. And Remy always comes through on his promises." He squeezed her hand, then was gone.

_Back at Magneto's Base_

Food was dropped off about twice a day. Sometimes it was someone they didn't recognize, other times it was Sabertooth. The first time he came in the room, Logan had ended up on the floor. Mia had begged him to ignore his words. "He's just trying to get you angry Logan, please, don't fight him." Logan was back in the bed, sore from his bout and a few more cuts decorated his face. "It ain't easy kid, not when he's saying the things he's saying." She frowned, Sabertooth's comments had been about _her_, and while they were hard to ignore they were just words. Even if the thought of some of them had made her shiver in revulsion. While she was mostly used to the seclusion she could tell Logan was getting antsy. They tried to pass the time as best they could, Logan found himself sleeping more then he was used to. No one had really come in to talk to them and they figured no one planned to. It wasn't until Thursday rolled around that Magneto made his appearance.

"My dear, welcome back. And you Wolverine, so nice to see you as well. I never expected I'd be able to get you here with the ease that we did. But, you prove me wrong," he said with a slight grin. Mia put a hand on Logan's arm, wanting to keep him in check. Even without his powers, Logan's body still contained metal and Magneto would have no problem hurting him.

"I got a letter from Charles, delivered by one of my Acolytes. Seems he wants to make a peaceful exchange," he held the letter in his hands. "Poor Charles, always still full of hope and good." Magneto crumpled up the letter and tossed it into the waste basket nearby. "I hope you'll understand that I have no intention of letting such a prize go."

Neither one knew if they were indeed the prize, but both knew even the Professor's attempts at peace were in vain.

"I would assume that when he fails to receive my reply that he will be on his way. In the meantime I will lay some ground rules. You are free to roam the halls with the other mutants, you will see that they as well wear inhibitors. The doors are locked by 8 p.m., no one may be out in the halls after that," he explained.

Logan gave a short laugh, "What is this, summer camp?"

Magneto turned his gaze towards Logan, "You, however, will notice that you can't leave the room. Even though you have no abilities at the moment, you are still in fact, a weapon. Only the girl may leave." Logan frowned at this, he didn't want her out alone. Magneto continued, "Your food will still be brought here, hers she may find in the dining area with the others. I suggest you try not getting out Logan, the effect is quite nasty." With a turn of his cape he was gone.

Mia bit her lip, she wanted to get out of the room. It was her chance to find Piotr and make sure he was okay. Logan seemed to sense her thoughts, "I'm not comfortable with you leaving on your own kid. But I know I'm hard pressed to stop you." He gave it a thought, then sighed, "One hour. You leave this room but you come back in an hour, whether you find him or not. If you find him, see if you can get him back here. We all need to talk."

Mia looked down at her watch, 10:30. She had almost the whole day ahead of her. Even if she could only get out for a bit at a time. She was almost nervous as she approached the door, but found that now when she pulled, it opened. She took a moment to adjust her eyes, the hallway seemed more lit then it had when she was last there. A handful of people were moving about the hallways, she could hear more noise down the hall, possibly the dining room. She looked back at Logan, "I'll be back in an hour."

As she wandered down the hall she was amazed at the change. No longer was it dead silent and empty. People came in and out of rooms, stopped in the hallways to talk and she did eventually find a dining area. Another area after that proved to be some sort of lounge. It was still all bland and metallic she noticed, not much of it inspired hope. It still very much looked a prison but at least she was no longer stuck in a room. She wasn't sure exactly where to start looking. Heading into the lounge she figured her best means of approach would be to ask around. Surely someone would have seen Piotr, he did stick out.

She heard some laughing and saw a small group centered around a table playing cards. But it was a certain voice that caught her ear.

"Remy?"

Remy swung about, "Petite!" he immediately folded his hand and excused himself from the table. She practically threw herself at him as he came to hug her. He held her out and looked her over, "You good right? Not hurt or nothing?"

"No, I'm fine, but Remy what happened to you." His lip was split and he had the beginnings of a black eye. He smiled, but grimaced, " I'll explain, let's head down this way." He walked her down to a hallway that didn't seem very occupied.

"Da Professor knows petite about you two being taken." She sighed in relief, "Then they're coming?"

Remy nodded, "Dey will be when Remy don't return. Rogue and Jean came and found me and John when you didn't come back. Remy sorry, he didn't know dat was gonna happen. We weren't told anything." She shook her head, "It's not your fault. You've done nothing but help us. But what happened to your face?"

"Let's just say Magneto found out I was smuggling letters for ya. He didn't take too kindly to it," he flashed his wrist and showed her his inhibitor. "Remy, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have let you do it if I thought you'd get hurt." Now it was Remy's turn to shake his head, "Never been caught before, petite. Was pretty sure he wouldn't. But they searched Pete's room and found them. Who else would be bringing them, non? Professor gave me a letter and I gave it to ole Mags, but all it wanted was for him to let you two go." Mia nodded, "He came and told us and basically laughed at the idea. He won't go down without a fight. It's his way. But you've seen Piotr? I need to find him, then we all need to go back to my room and talk. Logan's there, but he's not allowed to leave the room."

"Pete knows you're here. He wasn't allowed to look for ya. Sabertooth told him, wanted him to know he'd seen you, wanted to make him mad. He says it's been killin' him knowing you were somewhere around here. Think he's visiting with his sister, want to go seem 'em?"

"Of course I want to see them, I was only let out for the first time today you know," she smiled. It was the happiest she had felt in days. Remy led her down through a series of halls until they came to one that seemed to house younger mutants. There were a few older ones nearby, it seemed, to keep a watch on them.

"Most of da young'uns are in here. He don't take 'em too young, but of course Petey's sister is different. He needed her to keep him in check. Dey don't let him down here too much and dey take away his chances if he fights 'em. So he behaves himself, mostly." Mia smiled, she couldn't imagine Piotr not behaving. It just didn't seem very Piotr, but then she had seen him fight on occasion. It wasn't something one wanted to bring out in him.

They entered a small room rather like the lounge, but more kid oriented. Sitting on an obscenely small chair for his size was Piotr talking with a small blonde girl that didn't seem much different from her picture. Mia didn't want to interrupt, she stood back and watched him interact with his sister and she smiled. She could hear the happiness in his voice when he talked to her. Remy stood with her, waiting until Illyana looked up and noticed him. "Dyadya Remy!" she said whirling from her seat and racing to him. Piotr turned around to welcome his friend but stopped when he saw Mia who smiled.

"Oh thank goodness," he said getting up to come to her. She couldn't hold back a few tears and gladly stepped into his arms. "The things Sabertooth has been saying, I knew you were most likely safe but they worried me. While I am happy to see you, I am not happy to see you here," he told her. She buried her face in his shirt, "I've been so worried. I missed you so much." He kissed the top of her head then looked over at his sister who was staring at the newcomer. He said something in Russian she didn't understand and Illyana smiled. She was surprised when the girl came over and hugged her about the waist. Mia was surprised to find her so much shorter then her brother, while she was still young, she almost expected her to the same size as herself. Piotr was an anomaly she figured.

"Piotr talks you so much, my sister," she smiled. Piotr laughed, "We have been working on her English. She has had limited help here." Illyana said something back to him and he smiled and ruffled her hair, "She thinks I am making fun of her." He answered her back then talked to her for a moment. She looked sad, but nodded that she understood. "We have much to talk about, and I will not say much of it in front of her. We can go to my room," Piotr explained.

"Logan is back in our room, he's not permitted to leave. We need to go there," she checked her watch. "I promised him I'd be back in an hour and it's almost up." The two of them nodded and they made their goodbyes to Illyana. As they were walking away Piotr gave Remy a nudge. "I wish you wouldn't encourage her to call you 'Uncle Remy' you are hardly her uncle." Remy chuckled, "She loves her Uncle Remy. I bring her stuff." Piotr only shook his head.

They reached the room and found Logan waiting impatiently inside. They settled themselves in the room where they could and exchanged what information they knew.

"Da Professor planned to wait two days for my reply. He'll make his move after that," Remy told them. Logan grunted, "The bigger problem is figuring out what to do about these," he held up his wrist. "Can only do so much with them and I've spent the last hour banging it on things and trying to get it off."

"There is only two keys," Piotr stated. "Magneto has one and the other is usually kept with either Sabertooth or Mystique. I don't know who has it now."

Remy and Piotr conferred on what they knew to be the best possible route for a swift exit. "Da only ways to get out of here are head back up and through the rest of da compound. And Petey and I only know so much about that. Da other way ain't as easy, it takes ya through some caves, then down a ladder off of a cliff side. Once you get down that, you'll see a tunnel and that leads to da exit. Dere's water down dere, Magneto can get in and out that way in boats, but usually he uses da helicopter. Don't know if Remy would be able to get down dere but I might be able to check if he still has boats. Be good for a quick escape," he explained. Piotr agreed it was the better of the options, "There are two points where the plane would be able to land and one of them is directly where the tunnel lets out. It would be best for them to go there, if we are able to get in touch with them at all to tell them. I could not get the cell phone the Professor gave me to work down here."

Remy agreed with him, "Neither could I. Not sure now if I can get anywhere higher up to try."

Logan nodded, "Try and try seeing about those boats, they may be our best bet. But don't do anything that'll get yourself caught Gambit. I can't do much being stuck here, but we need to try and figure out exactly where those keys are and where they carry them. Maybe they take them off at night or something."

"Sensors in the hallways, no one can be moving about after they lock down. But Remy learned you don't have to be in your own rooms. They won't check so long as no one is moving around in the hallways. Seen plenty of the others not coming from dere own rooms, comprenez? If we figure out when the attack will be we can group beforehand in here, seeing as you can't leave. Dat's another thing we have to figure out," he pointed out. Logan studied the door, "What would happen if I tried? He didn't really say."

"Would hurt, a lot, especially since you don't have your healing skills now," Remy told him. His inhibitor was wired to shock him, strongly, on any attempt through the doorway.

"So first and foremost, keys. You got any friends here you trust? Other thieves maybe who can sneak around?" Logan asked.

Remy considered the question for a moment, "Oui, perhaps a few. If they know a fights coming better to get them on our side anyways. Better to talk to everyone really."

Logan agreed, "If others know what's about to happen, we may be able to get more help than we counted on. Spread the word, you and Piotr can talk to the others, if we leave they're coming too. No one's getting left behind." While he was sure many would return home, it was possible there were a number to augment the X-Men's forces and the Professor would only be too willing to take them in.

"You boys get on that, we'll meet again just after dinner and see what we've come up with," Logan directed. He turned towards Mia, "I know you're going to want to go, just stick with them and promise to check in every couple hours so I know you're alright."

Mia smiled, "I'll come back in a bit and have lunch with you, I know you'll get bored being on your own in here." Logan smiled in return and the three set off to see who they could find to talk to. For as long as Piotr had been there he hadn't been terribly social, so they counted on Remy for most of that. As they made their way down the hallways Remy stopped, "Almost forgot Petite, Roguey sent me with a letter for ya, we'll swing by my room and grab it," he said turned down another hallway.

"Roguey? She'd kill you if she heard you call her that," she laughed. "Me and Rogue gotten on better terms while she was all worried for you petite. Remy even held her, what you think about dat?"

"Impressive, you'll win her over yet I'm sure."

They reached the room and Mia took the letter but didn't rush to open it up, if what Remy said was true it might have some personal information from Rogue that she wouldn't want the others seeing. She'd wait until tonight to read it.

They headed back down to where Remy had been playing cards and found the few men and some others there as well. Remy settled himself down and drew their attention.

Their plan had begun.


	10. Immovable Objects and Unstoppable Forces

Ch. 10

**Immovable Objects and Unstoppable Forces**

When the days ticked by and no response arrived, Charles Xavier prepared for battle. He hated using violence as a solution but even he, with his years of experience in handling Magneto, knew his hope for negotiations to be in vain. He conferred with the others and they decided on who would be part of the team going and who would remain behind.

Along with himself, Jean and Scott would go - the two of them being in command of the team on the ground. Charles would remain behind in the jet with Beast to have a medic stationed in one spot. The remainder of the team would be Kurt, Rogue and Kitty. John agreed to go along as well, knowing some detail of the layout and location. Ororo would remain behind to take command of the school. He made sure a few of the older students took on some responsibilities in their absence.

At the base, the others were preparing for their side. There was still no way to communicate with each other, Remy tried getting into every accessible part of the base to find reception and failed. Through careful conversations with a few of the guards, Remy was able to ascertain that there were boats still stationed in the waters. The larger problem was still the keys. When Sabertooth brought Logan his lunch that day, Logan did his best to stall the mutant and keep him talking. For all that he studied the man, he couldn't spot any sort of key. That's where Remy's thieves would come in, although he wasn't sure how they had become _his _really. Many of the others were plenty excited for any type of battle and more than eager to help with an escape. A number had heard of the battles between the X-Men and Magneto and were excited to share in the adventure.

"When do you need this key by?" a small blonde woman asked. Remy looked over at her, all he knew was her name - Tasha. Her arms were covered in various tattoos and he thought he recognized one as a distant guild symbol. But she fit in with the small group of thieves set up here and held her own. A heck of a card player too he remembered.

"We be estimating two days. That should be enough time for the others to mobilize, get themselves set up."

She nodded, "I think I can get you your key," she smirked.

Tasha hadn't given him any specifics, but they were all on the lookout for a way to get their hands on a key. Magneto himself didn't come down this way often unless something needed his immediate attention. So that left either Mystique or Sabertooth, and either of them could have the key.

Piotr and Mia spent time breaking the others up into groups. Should they all have the chance to get out, Piotr didn't want anyone getting left behind. More experienced mutants were put in charge of smaller groups, each group having a variety of abilities incase they should get the inhibitors off. He wanted everyone to have a fighting chance. Piotr as well as a couple other mutants were designated to help the children escape. They were all instructed on possible escape routes, as well as what to expect from the X-Men and Magneto's team. There were two main concerns, one of which was timing. With no way of knowing when the X-Men would arrive they were taking a chance on leaving themselves out in the open. Piotr did his best to detail how to reach the nearest town, but was hopeful it wouldn't come to that. He didn't know what the locals would think when a group of mutants descended on the town. But logistics was another problem, how to get all those mutants out of there? He was going to have to leave that one to the professor.

At the end of that night, they reconvened at Logan and Mia's room. Piotr and Remy caught him up on what they had accomplished. "Remy got a couple volunteers, they going to sneak out tonight and see what the system is like. Wish now I had paid more attention to it, but Remy never really had to try to sneak out of here before. We know where the room for the cameras is, one of the thieves said they try to take care of that part for us when we make our move.

Logan nodded, "Alright, well lock down is soon. We'll call it a night and meet up again in the morning. By then we'll hopefully have some information on the security from your buddies."

Remy agreed then headed for the door, Piotr rose to go with him then stopped and looked at Mia. Mia sent a pleading look to Logan. "You know you're technically an adult, you don't have to ask me kid," Logan said reading her intentions. She smiled and gave him a quick hug, "Don't worry, I promise I won't go anywhere on my own and I'll see you in the morning." He returned the hug but sent Piotr a warning glance over her shoulder. The three of them left the room and headed out into the hallways. Remy's room was a few doors down from Piotr's and they stopped there and said their good-bye's. As they entered Piotr's room, Mia remembered the letter in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly scanned it.

_Mia,_

_Don't worry, we're coming for you. Keep that Swamp Rat out of trouble. He's unfortunately growing on me._

_Love,_

_Rogue_

_P.S. I'll kill you if you tell him that._

She smiled at her friend's brief note, Piotr looked curious and she handed it over. He smiled as well, "Remy talks about her more then you would realize. I do believe he is very serious about her, I've never seen him that way before."

Mia thought that Rogue was a little more interested in him than she was letting on, "I think they'll be good for each other," she said. She took a moment and surveyed the room. A touch nicer than hers, she thought. The furniture was obviously designed for use not looks, but it was sturdy and when you were Piotr's size, that was important. It was more lit and boasted a nicer looking television.

As if reading her thoughts he spoke, "It's not where I used to stay, the rooms upstairs are rather nicer. But it is not as bad as some of the rooms down here. Surprisingly, the children's rooms are the nicest."

She was a bit surprised by that, Magneto didn't seem to have much in the way of compassion.

There was not much in the way of entertainment, so they settled into watching reruns of various shows and were content with keeping each other company. For the first time in days, Mia felt happy. She eventually dozed off, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the TV and rhythm of Piotr's heart.

The next morning, after filling up on breakfast, Remy met with his thieves. Mia had taken herself off to talk to Logan while Piotr would go visit his sister. They did their best not to be together all the time, lest someone get ideas.

Remy's "meeting" as it was, was a casual game of cards. He was settled around the table with about 4 of the others when Tasha strolled in looking like the cat who got the cream. Remy dealt her in. "So, what's the status."

One of the thieves, a short stocky man with a New York accent spoke up, "The doors aren't too hard to reprogram. That I already tried. I spent about 10 minutes in the hallways before some of those guards showed up. It's not much time, given the size of this place, but it's something. But it would take someone like us, who knows how to move against the cameras. Anyone walking down the halls would have been caught sooner."

"How close do you think you can get to the surveillance room?" Remy asked folding his hand.

"If I start in one of the rooms closest to the office I think I could get there. That'd cut down time trying to get through the hallways. I could reprogram the door and get in, don't know how many people they have in there."

Another man spoke up, "Two at all times. I've counted. They come on regular 8 hour shifts. Two and two. I've counted about four guards on duty during the day."

"Two came for me last night, so I would assume that's only two on during the night."

Remy nodded and dealt, "Any word on the key?"

"Neither Sabertooth or Mystique made a show yesterday, so it was impossible to tell." Remy waited while the man looked through his cards, then nodded. Next was Tasha, she sorted her cards then pulled two from her hand. When she slid the cards back over, Remy realized something was underneath.

"No way."

She merely smiled, "I had an, well let's call it an "opportunity" shall we. I can only hope it will not cause troubles that we have retrieved it early. It will be missed I'm sure."

Remy pocketed the key as stealthily as possible, "Oui, one can only hope it will not be a problem. I also hope that you did not put yourself in a difficult position to get this."

Tasha folded her cards, "It was a position I was already in. Why not take advantage, no?"

After that eventful meeting, Remy swung by to grab Piotr before heading to Logan's room. Even the others were stunned at how quickly they had gotten the key. "Now the question here is, if we take off our inhibitor, will someone be warned? I don't want to risk taking them off any earlier then possible," Mia stated. The others agreed, they would wait until the last possible second to remove them.

Tomorrow night at lock down, various groups would assemble in rooms. Remy's thieves had their orders. They would station themselves down near the manned surveillance room. Piotr as well as two other mutants were in charge of getting the children out. Other then Illyana, none of them had been told of the plan for fear of their talking about it. Remy would retain possession of the key and be stationed with the thieves. Should it become necessary he would remove their inhibitors first to help continue their escape. Their main objective would be to enter the surveillance room and disable all the doors. If that was not accomplished by a certain time, then the mutants were to try to disable the doors themselves. Quick lessons on how to override the doors were handed out and all mutants who could complete the task were asked to help other rooms that could not.

They could only hope and pray that the X-Men would arrive at the same time. Piotr had written directions down on how to find the nearest town and the location and contact information of the Mansion. Should they escape they would be able to call for assistance. Remy and Piotr both still had the cell phones provided to them by the professor.

The group spent the day circulating amongst the others, making sure everyone was up to date on what needed to be accomplished. When it felt like they could accomplish no more they were exhausted. It was nearly dinner time, Remy excused himself to go catch some sleep. While it was suggested everyone turn in early, they needed some to stay out and around to make things seem like normal. Mia was tired, the stress was getting to be too much.

"Do you want to grab dinner?" Piotr asked her. "No, I just want to go lay down. I don't feel like eating." Piotr sent her to his room while he ate dinner. When he returned a short time later with a plate in his hand, Mia was sound asleep on the bed. He was going to have to wake her soon, she would be staying in the room with Logan and needed to be there before lock down. He figured they had a good hour to rest before then, and after making sure the alarm was set, he crawled in behind her.

When their hour was up, Mia's heart sank. Tonight everything would change, if it went as planned. She took as long as a goodbye as she could before Piotr had to force her on her way. She got back to her room to find Logan waiting for her. He convinced her to grab a shower, then they would turn in. Their plans would begin at midnight and they would need all the rest they could get.

At around 11 that night, Mia sat dressed and ready to go in the chair on edge. Every noise made her nearly jump. Logan had just gotten into the shower but Mia hadn't been able to rest that much. She had finally given up trying after an hour. She heard a set of feet go past the door, guards moving around the floor. She'd heard them go by about every ten minutes and only resulted in making her feel more nervous as time moved on. Logan came out dressed and ready to go, a towel across his shoulders. She heard feet go by again and checked the time on the clock, that was only five minutes, perhaps it was one of the others? It was only 11:30 at this point. Logan plopped down on the bed and put the television on, but kept the volume down low. After settling on something pointless they both proceeded to wait.

More footsteps.

Then more.

Mia frowned, that was too many and too fast. "Logan, I think something is happening."

Logan turned off the television and moved to the door. He listened, "Too many people going by this room," he muttered.

"Do you think the others have been caught?" It wasn't quite midnight yet, but that didn't mean they weren't on the move. They knew they might have a better opportunity sooner and they were prepared to move then if need be. Time on the clock flashed 11:50.

"It's just feet, no noises," Logan said his ear pressed to the door. He continued to listen, "I'd guess a dozen or so at least in the last few minutes."

"They know," Mia stated. Logan just grunted and continued to listen.

Suddenly the building gave a shake.

Logan jumped back from the door as an audible sound of doors unlocking reverberated around the floor. Mia approached it and it whizzed open to near chaos. A large number of guards were in the hallway but people were pouring out of the doors making a run for it or trying to take on the guards. It was obvious word had gotten out. But the doors _had_ opened, that meant the thieves and Remy had accomplished their part of the plan. She didn't have to wonder long if they had removed their inhibitors, a flash of red down the hallway answered that.

"We have to get movin'. Not sure if they were able to disarm the doors but I guess we'll find out," Logan said. He studied the door for a minute then threw himself through the doorway. He screamed and pulled himself back through. Mia dropped down next to him, "Shit darlin' that's a lot stronger then I figured it would be," he choked out. "Just sit for a minute Logan, I'll have to get to Remy and get the key."

"Just go, I'll wait for someone to get me out."

"Don't be stupid, I'll be right back. I'm not going to lea-" She closed her eyes, "Mia?" She made a shushing motion with her hand.

"They're here!" she smiled.

After the jet had landed the X-Men with the exception of the Professor and Beast moved towards the compound. They found a cave entrance with a sizable amount of space to leave the jet and headed towards what was exposed of the compound. A portion of it was under ground but at this point they couldn't be a hundred percent sure where the others were. Magneto was smart, it was hard for Jean or Charles to probe their way in but Jean hoped once inside the compound she'd have a better chance. John led them towards the doorway that would be the easiest to get through. They knew they wouldn't go undetected, the arrival of the jet would most likely take care of that. Once the few guards who were stationed by the door were taken care of, John used their keycard to get in the door and they all filtered through. Their main goal was to rescue Mia and Logan as well as Remy and Piotr if they could find them. Secondary was getting the others out, however they wanted to get as many out as possible. As Jean moved through the hallways she began mentally searching, there were so many people!

"There's a lot of mutants housed here, we have to head down, they're below us. I'm trying to locate the others," she said as they moved for a stairwell. Suddenly she stopped, Scott ran into her. "What's happening?"

"They're getting out, Remy and some others I think freed them. There's a lot of conflict, guards are fighting them. Dozens of guards in the hallway, the mutants are running, they're scared. It's a lot of noise, wait! I think I found them!"

_Mia!_

_Jean?_

_We're coming, hang tight. The jet is out by a cave entrance, do you know where that is?_

_Yes we do, that was our main route of escape._

_Get down there with Logan, we'll do what we can for the other mutants._

_Jean, we don't have our abilities. Remy has a key to unlock the inhibitors. Find him if you can, I may not be able to get Logan out of the room myself. _

_I'll try and find him, get moving!_

Mia felt the connection break and opened her eyes, "They're coming for us. The jet is down by that cave entrance. We need to head that way. I'm going to find Remy and get the key. If I don't Jean will find him." She headed to the door and stopped at the doorway, "I'm not leaving you here Logan." Logan smiled, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Be careful."

She hadn't left the doorway yet when she felt someone grab her, it was a guard. She couldn't tell if Remy was down the hallway anymore but she yelled for him. The guard proceeded to haul her out of the room and onto the ground alongside a few other mutants. Logan got as close to the door as he dared.

"Get off me!" she kicked and screamed until she thought she'd go hoarse. She managed to land a few blows until he cuffed her across the face. The other mutants alongside her were mixed between anger and fear, some were moaning, some were cursing and fighting back. The mutant next to her took a butt to the head from the end of a gun. That quieted a bunch of them. She felt something press down on her back and looked behind her to see Mystique.

"I'm guessing you and your friends were a large part of this. The X-Men will be quickly taken care of."

"Just because you have some of us, doesn't mean you'll get all of us. Your collection will be rather depleted," Mia retorted. Mystique laughed, "You're a pretty good bargaining chip though. You and the Wolverine. We'll see what happens," she pushed down harder on Mia's back making her gasp.

The pressure was suddenly released as Mystique was taken down in a flash of silver. Mia rolled over and guards began moving in. Logan stood there on shaky feet before her. Blood rushed down his hands and dripped on the floor. He was sweating and nearly shaking but he pressed on. Guards went down left and right and mutants who had been on the floor quickly scrambled to their feet to get out of the way. Mia got up in time to see Mystique slink off, her hand holding her side. Logan must have actually gotten her.

More mutants joined in the melee and Mia thought that was a good time to get a move on.

"Logan, let the others fight. You've done enough. We have to get moving." She pulled his arm and lead him down the hallway. How far did Remy say to go? She wished she could spot him, or anyone for that matter. She sent messages out to Jean to update their status but didn't hear a response. Was she at the third hallway now? Looking over at Logan she could tell he probably hadn't even been counting, so she turned and hoped she was right. He stumbled and it took all her strength to help him stand back up. His claws had retracted but the wounds were still bleeding rather quickly. People were running past them in both directions. There was too much confusion, no one seemed to know which way to go.

They'd have to worry about themselves though, Mia needed to Logan out of there as fast as she could. She really needed Remy and the key. She almost missed the door as lost in thought as she was. It was mostly off its hinges, people must have gone through there, they were on the right track.

"C'mon Logan, we're getting there. Stay with me."

"I'm doing what I can darlin'. I busted the control on that door but it didn't do as much as I hoped," he was huffing a bit. He still looked sweaty and rather pale, she hoped he could stay on his feet. They went down a number of stairs, it was slow going at times. She'd wait for Logan until he'd caught up then they'd move on again. Finally she thought they were at the right level and cracked open the door, it was dark and smelled wet. Most likely the right hallway. She froze as she heard a thunk above their heads a few floors up. A quick look revealed nothing but she could tell Logan heard it too. He nodded and they proceeded through the door. Remy had told them to go left and stay straight. She noticed more connecting hallways until the hallway started to end and the walls were more rocky. The sound of the door clanging through the hallway spurred them on, "We should hurry," she whispered.

They began sprinting down the tunnel, it was dark, the lights few and far between. She kept one hand on the wall to maintain her balance, the gravel loose below her feet. She spied some light up ahead and was relieved when they came out of the tunnel. The cave was large, landings were crudely cut into the rock, making their way down to a ladder. There was enough light near the docks and she could spy a few boats from their height. The cave itself was poorly lit save for the exit which she could see daylight peeking out of. They were near the edge now and she frowned, there was no rail. They would have to go slow. She heard a small moan next to her and Logan sank to the ground.

"No, Logan. You've got to get up. We're almost done, c'mon," she said encouragingly. She couldn't help him, couldn't even support him, his weight had taken her down instantly. He shook his head, "Can't darlin', can't."

"Yes you can. I see the boats Logan, we're almost clear," she did the best to keep the helplessness out of her voice. She felt exhausted herself and seeing Logan in his condition made her want to cry. The others hadn't found them yet, Jean had told her where the plane would be but they were fighting, something that Mia and Logan couldn't do with their inhibitors. She hadn't seen Remy or Piotr since chaos broke loose and that caused her to fight back tears. She shook her head to clear her thoughts then began tugging on the mans arm again, "Please Logan, I need you to do this for me. I need you to get up," she begged. Logan groaned, but this time, rolled himself over to his knees and slowly worked his way back to his feet.

She heard him before she saw him, the deep growl that reverberated around the cavern. Logan was barely on his feet before he was taken down. "Logan!" she screamed then lost her footing as the ground shook and a flash of red nearly blinded her. To her immense relief it was Remy who managed to knock Sabertooth off of Logan. Logan didn't move though, he had spent nearly all of his energy just getting up and Sabertooth was quickly regaining ground. Remy hurriedly pressed something into her hand before charging the mutant. She glanced down and saw the small key in her hand. Mia hastened to Logan's side, knowing his healing abilities were in desperate need. She fumbled with the inhibitor until it made a resounding thud on the rock ground, then she waited.

At first there was no difference and her heart began to sink. But slowly she saw cuts healing and bruises vanishing until he had enough strength to open his eyes. "Oh thank god," she whispered. "Not dead yet, kid," he smiled. She smiled in return and helped him sit up. Remy was doing a good job of keeping Sabertooth back, but Logan knew he was going to have to help. He worked his way to his feet, cracked his neck, then with much excitement extended his claws. He quickly joined in the battle.

Mia bent down and picked up his inhibitor to pull the key out and frowned. The small, thin key had bent when the inhibitor had fallen on it. She bent it back, trying not to break it and finally wiggled it free. She was nearly startled when Remy landed next to her after being knocked down by Sabertooth, but now Logan was on him, keeping himself in the middle. She worked the key into the inhibitor on her wrist then cried out in despair. It had broken.

Remy was shaking himself off and getting to his knees, "Petite?" She showed him the two pieces of the key, one half still in the inhibitor. Remy grabbed her wrist and began trying to turn what was left of the key, "Petite, my fingers are too big, I gotta help Logan," she turned and saw that Logan had gotten himself knocked down and was almost off the side, clinging to the first of the ladders. Remy ran and tackled Sabertooth from behind while Logan pulled himself up. Mia tried to fight her frustrations, if she could get the inhibitor off she could just stop Sabertooth all together. She worked her nails down around the broken shaft of the key and tried turning it, it was slow but she could feel some give. The ground shook again as Remy unleashed another attack and she heard the sound of rock cracking. Logan had lost his positioning putting Sabertooth closer to Mia. Sabertooth chose to use that to his advantage.

Mia could see him advancing on her, taking steps backwards in false attempts to move away from Logan and Remy. She looked behind her, she only had about ten feet tops before she reached the edge and she wasn't on the side with a ladder. She was losing her focus, her palms began sweating and she cursed when she lost what grip she had on the key. She worked her fingers back around the piece and began twisting it again. Looking back up, Sabertooth was only about five feet away. Giving up on the key for the moment she began scrambling to get to a better position. If she could get to the ladder she could start to head down, away from the fight. Mia wasn't happy at the idea of running away, but she needed time to focus on getting her inhibitor off.

But Sabertooth stepped to the side, acknowledging her move and she stopped.

She heard the telltale sound of metal as Logan's claws scratched against the rock, a warning. Sabertooth grinned.

Standing alongside Logan, Remy pulled a card out of his pocket, the glowing light casting shadows on the cave wall. "That all you got, Gambit," Sabertooth goaded. "Be more then you have, non?" The card wavered between his fingers, waiting for release.

"Then bring it," Sabertooth told him. And Remy did.

What Remy would remember in that moment would be different than the others.

Logan saw the attack for what it was, but only a moment too late. Sabertooth merely smiled in victory. As the card flew from Remy's fingers, Mia realized what was going to happen and dug her nails back into the keyhole and was forced to jump back from the explosion.

Remy saw it as Sabertooth, being himself. A man wanting a fight and one that Remy was certain he himself would win. What he didn't see was the already loose stone, the cracks that had slowly formed from their fight. What Remy would remember is that he was the one who sent Mia over the edge. The one who caused the floor to crack and rumble as rock slid apart from rock. And Sabertooth, who stood there watching as she scrambled for handholds, for anything that would keep her from going over the side with a feral smile on his face. Remy heard a scream and it took him a moment to realize it was his own. It was one of those strange situations, he thought, where everything moved in slow motion and not a detail was missed. Logan had lunged for her, but Sabertooth was quickly there fighting the mutant back, keeping him at bay. Remy couldn't move. His body shook and he put his hands to the side of his head to steady himself. He needed to help Logan, the man was in rage and fighting poorly for it. Tears clouded his vision but he fought on.

Remy looked down next to him and saw the inhibitor cuff that had been on Logan. He quickly scooped it up and charge the mutant. While Logan battled with Sabertooth, Remy ran in but surprised them both by rolling onto the ground between them. Sabertooth looked down, Remy had managed to lock the cuff about the mutants ankle. He let out a growl, but already the effects were obvious. The few cuts that Logan had just landed didn't close up and continued to bleed. Now it was Logan's turn to smile, "Go!" he hollered at Remy who needed no orders. He quickly sprinted down the side towards the ladder and could only hope he could get there in time.

The fall felt long, but in the darkness, she couldn't tell how far down it actually was. This side of the cave wasn't as lit and for that she was somewhat thankful. Her fingers were lodged back into the keyhole struggling during her descent. She wasn't prepared for the icy cold waters that surrounded her, or the breath that was knocked from her lungs. White spots were clouding her vision and she was torn between working to free the key or struggling to reach the surface. She wasn't sure she had enough air for either. She kicked her feet, she couldn't even make out the surface of the water and continued to use her hands to work on the key, she felt it click and was nearly free of the device when her lungs gave out and water rushed in.

The climb down the ladder felt tortuous to Remy even though it had taken no more then two minutes at the rate he had gone. So far he had calculated she had to have been in the water for nearly five minutes between the fighting and his climb, but he wasn't even near the side she had fallen off of. As he landed down on the bottom he was met with two guards stationed by the boats. They had heard the fighting and were merely waiting on backup. In the distance Remy could hear the motor of boats and quickly set about setting off explosives to send the two guards easily into the water. He grabbed a boat and roared the engine to life, knowing it was quicker then him trying to swim.

The water was still faintly rippled, the falling rock had created waves as he rushed towards the spot under the cliff side. He squinted through the darkness but couldn't see anything, then quickly shook off his coat and boots and dove in. The water was icy and black and he had to feel around, grabbing handfuls of water in search of a body. He was finally forced to surface for air. From above he heard screams but ignored them, but then the room shook with a ferocity greater then the one he had created and rock fell away from the cave wall and light filtered in. He saw figures through the dust and it only took him a moment to register one silhouette in particular. Rogue.

Scott had burst through the wall at Jean's order. The tone of her voice had been frantic and even with the entrance a short distance away, his way was quicker. Rogue, Scott, Jean and Kurt all ran into the cave.

"Over here! Now!" Remy yelled.

"Remy!" Rogue yelled back. "In the water! Mia's in the water!" he hollered back. That was all it took for the others to set themselves in motion. Remy took a gulp of air and headed back down, Scott and Kurt both dove in and headed towards Remy. Jean scanned the water searching and frowned. Her senses were overwhelmed with the emotions in the room, particularly above her. She could sense Logan, the despair and anger as well as the satisfaction. Sabertooth was dead. Logan had always been a little harder to read, but at the moment his thoughts were clear as a bell. She could sense him moving, beginning to make his way down towards them and she redirected her thoughts to the water. However, she wasn't sure there was going to be any happy ending.

Rogue stood next to her looking at her as if she was suddenly the one who could read thoughts. "You don't sense her do you?"

Jean hesitated, then shook her head, "I don't hear a thing," she practically whispered. Logan had taken the other available boat and two more boats were heading in. Jean quickly assessed there were six guards. As soon as Logan was near them she pushed the boats back and over causing the men to fall out. They surfaced and swam for the docks, Jean figured that bought them at least a couple more minutes. Logan joined them on the small rock beach. As much as he wanted to, jumping in the water wouldn't help, they'd only be forced to rescue him as well. "How long?" Rogue asked him. Logan shook his head and it took him a while to speak, "I don't know, too long." Scott came up gasping, "I got her!"

Logan quickly moved to the edge of the water as Scott swam closer, Mia hooked under his arm. Remy and Kurt were close behind. Logan reached down and pulled her out of the water settling her on the rocky ground. The others climbed out while Logan leaned down listening for anything, a breath a heartbeat. "Please Darlin'" he whispered. Remy was suddenly there, moving Logan to the side and administering CPR. Jean knelt down near her head and let her hand fall over the girls head. Scott hurried off with Kurt to handle the guards who were regrouping.

Remy pushed on, certain that he had probably broken a rib by now, but there was no change. Jean tried to wait, tried not to have to say the words. But finally she couldn't handle the wash of emotions pouring out of everyone. She put her hand on Remy's shoulder, "That's enough Remy.""No," he told her."Yes. Remy I can't sense anything, she," her voice cut off and she composed herself," she was under too long. I lost sense of her minutes ago.""Don't care, maybe you be wrong. I did this," he whispered at the end and set to start over again. This time it was Rogue's hand on his shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, "Remy, you didn't do this. You tried to save her," she told him gently. Remy shook his head, "I'm the one who blasted that rock, I'm the one who sent her into the water." He was losing his composure, he was going to have to tell his best friend that he was responsible for the death of the woman he loved. He would be mourning for two friendships then it seemed.

Rogue bent down and let her arms circle his shoulders, he was suddenly aware of how cold he was. Logan bent down and pulled Mia into his arms, his face buried in her neck. "After all this, after all this," he moaned. Scott and Kurt returned from the docks and approached the scene quietly. "We need to head back to the jet," Jean told them, echoing Scott's thoughts. Rogue helped Remy to his feet, "What am I gonna tell Pete?" he asked."Piotr won't blame you, Remy. You couldn't foresee any of this," Rogue told him helping him to his feet. She was maintaining her composure for him, but a few tears still slipped out. She helped him walk back towards the hole in the wall, keeping her arm locked around his in support.

Logan walked mostly in a daze, he didn't even remember reaching the jet. All he could feel was the body, almost heavy in his arms. As he reached the steps he wondered what to tell the Professor before he realized he would already know. Hank was there, waiting for him, ready to take her. Logan shook his head and climbed up. Hank directed him towards the back of the plane where a small cot and medical supplies had been on hand ready for the wounded. Only Mia wasn't wounded.

He sank down onto one of the few seats in the back and merely held her. Hank did him the courtesy of pulling a small curtain across the doorway. He could hear the sobs of the others, most of them trying to stay quiet. Others would need to be told as they approached, Logan was thankful he wouldn't have to see their faces. Hank busied himself around the two, not once even asking Logan to put her down.

The first to arrive back at the jet were Kitty and John. He could hear Scott, keeping his voice calm but telling them what had happened. He could hear John's gasp and muttered curses and Kitty's sobs. Kitty was never quiet he reflected. But still no one came beyond the curtain. The wait was excruciating. They were waiting on one more, the one who he knew beside himself would take it the worst. Logan had never seen Piotr anything but calm and controlled except maybe when he was fighting. But even then he was still mostly in control.

Logan closed his eyes and breathed, pulling Mia into an even tighter grip if it were possible. He waited until he heard the sound of the curtain open and close as Hank left. Then he heard the crunch of gravel, of hurried feet and realized there were two people they were waiting for. Piotr and Illyana, he had rescued his sister. Hank stood just outside the curtain, while Scott maintained his position at the top of the steps.

He didn't hear the words that were said, he didn't want to. But he heard the scuffle, Illyana crying at the outburst of her brother. He could hear them restraining him, talking to him trying to calm him down. He could hear Remy talking to Illyana. Piotr was going on in Russian now and even though Logan couldn't understand the words he could feel the emotions behind them. The engine whirred to life and the steps closed up.

_I thank you all for your patience, this chapter was a long delay. But the story isn't over. Until next time…_


	11. A Rogue Chapter

Chapter 11

A Rogue Chapter

Rogue sighed and shifted in her chair. She had been staring at the screen for over 10 minutes but hadn't pushed a single key. Closing the laptop she pushed back from the desk and looked around her room.

Things hadn't been easy the past two days. That was an understatement for sure.

Talking to Logan was like talking to a wall, talking to Kitty resulted in tears and talking to Piotr? Well, you could talk at him really. He didn't hear much of what was said lately. In fact he had spent most of the morning talking with the Professor.

Remy had been about the only one of any help, although he wasn't taking things to easy. He constantly blamed himself and Piotr hadn't been able to bring himself to speak to him yet. It made things a bit tense and poor Illyana was clueless as to what was happening between her brother and adopted 'uncle'.

She'd been busy the better part of yesterday helping new mutants check in. The professor had arranged for buses to be stationed in the nearby town, many mutants happily came to the mansion. How many stayed would be questionable. A number had already left and some had chosen not to come at all. Jean and Ororo were helping locate families for those who wanted to get in touch or return home. The Professor was hopeful a good dozen or more might stay on at the mansion.

So the mood around the mansion was split. All the new mutants were happy and full of conversation and life while the others walked around in quiet and reflected on what had happened.

She finally gave up and headed out of the room. Down the hall she heard a commotion and headed down the next hallway. Remy stood in the doorway to what she knew was Piotr's room and he looked anything but happy.

"Remy, what's going on?" she asked. Remy motioned to the room without a word and Rogue looked in. Two suitcases sat out on the bed and were packed with only a few items but what personal items that were in the room were packed away and a box sat on Mia's old bed full of her things. Illyana sat on the bed beside the suitcase trying to fight tears while Piotr opened drawers and pulled out a few more articles of clothes.

"You're leaving?" she asked quietly.

"They're leaving, she isn't even buried yet and he's leaving," Remy said in a strained voice. Rogue put her hand on his arm to comfort him.

"It is my choice," Piotr said before slamming the suitcase shut. "I am taking Illyana home to my parents. She has been away too long."

Rogue knew the answer but she asked anyway, "Are you coming back?"

Piotr hesitated over the suitcase before closing the second one as well. "No, most likely not."

"You're an ass!" Remy shouted. "Won't even stay to see she has a proper funeral. You be the only one she'd want there and you're leaving. 'Aint right, mon ami."

"Remy," Rogue hissed. Remy threw up his hands and stormed off. Illyana sniffled and Piotr spoke to her quietly in Russian before the young girl nodded and left the room. When she was out of sight Rogue turned to him, "Why?"

Piotr sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. "I haven't seen her at all. I can't bring myself to do it. I can't admit that she's gone. I couldn't even watch her be carried off that plane. I just have to get away from here. I know that Remy doesn't understand and that he's hurt over this, but I can't watch her be buried and still be here for my sister. I need her home so that I can have my own time to grieve."

"But you still won't be coming back?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Probably not. Maybe down the road somewhere I'll be ready. But right now, I want to take my sister home. I want to see my family. It's been nearly two years."

"When will you go?"

"The Professor will have us on a plane this afternoon. He does not agree as well, but he understands." Rogue nodded. Piotr stood up and moved over to the box on the bed, "Will you do something for me?" he asked. Rogue nodded and moved over to the box. "These were all her things, except for the clothes. I'm sure the new mutants might be able to use those. There is really no one to give this too, but I know you two were close. You might be able to find a home for some of these items."

"Sure Piotr, anything else?"

"Yes," he said walking back over to the nightstand and pulling out a small box.

"Before I went back, we had gone to the mall. She had loved these hair clips but I talked her out of them so that I could go back and buy them for her. I had hoped that I would be able to give them to her when I came back, but left a note attached to them incase she found them." He handed Rogue the small box with the two clips inside. They were silver bobby pins with clear Swarovski stones down them and a larger one on the end shaped as a heart in pink. "I was hoping you could have them put them in her hair, for when she is buried," he asked.

"Piotr, they're lovely. Of course I'll do that hun."

"Thank you, and thank you for understanding. It is not easy, this situation. But it is harder having my friends upset with me as well."

Rogue slipped the box into her sweatshirt pocket, "Try not to be mad at Remy. He's just too upset to focus right now. He'll calm down and then he'll understand. He's not good at managing his emotions."

Piotr nodded, "It would seem that not many of us are."

Sometime after she had left the room she found herself wandering, her fingers tracing the small box in her pocket. She decided to wander down to see Hank and find out if anything had been decided with arrangements. As she entered the room she saw the table off to the distance that held the covered body of Mia. Other then seeing her body being carried off the plane, Rogue hadn't been able to handle approaching her. She found Hank bent over at the computer, busily typing, so absorbed he hadn't noticed her entrance. After shuffling her feet for a moment, she cleared her throat.

"Oh Rogue! You startled me, I'm sorry I was preoccupied," he apologized. He pushed his papers back into the file and turned around in his chair. "What can I help you with?"

She felt the box against her hip, "I was wondering if you and the Professor had decided when Mia's funeral would be? I wanted to help if that's alright." He smiled, "Of course Rogue. So far we haven't settled but we think it will be in about two days. Was there anything in particular you wanted to help with?"

"I was hoping you would let me get her ready? Piotr asked me if I would put some clips he bought in her hair, but I figured I could do her hair and make-up and, you know, just get her prepared," she finished. Hank's smile faltered only slightly, "Of course Rogue. I would appreciate it. If you wouldn't mind, someone will need to go through her clothes and see if you can find something for her to wear as well."

"Sure Hank, tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow, thank you Rogue."

Rogue nodded and excused herself.

Hank sighed as he watched her go then looked down at the file he was working on. He opened up his papers and started typing from where he left off.

_After 48 hours no sign of rigor mortis has appeared in the body…_

Rogue strolled around the mansion. She didn't feel like sitting still. After some thought she headed upstairs again to the room that Piotr and Mia had shared and found it empty save the suitcases still sitting on the bed. She went through the pile of clothes on the bed and pulled out something she thought would be appropriate and set it on top of the box of Mia's belongings. The other clothes she gathered up and took to the common room. When done she collected the box and took it to her room. Sorting through it she found a handful of pictures. Some were from the summer picnic they had, a few others were candid's, caught around the mansion. There were a few holiday photos and a family photo that had come from her parent's house. An odd assortment of trinkets, some jewelry and beauty supplies as well as a couple small stuffed animals. Rogue picked through and set aside a few things to use at the service. She wondered if the Professor would notify Mia's family? She put the family photo aside too, incase they did come. The rest she wasn't sure what to do with. She closed up the box and set it aside just as she heard a tap on her door. Looking up she saw Remy standing in the doorway. She didn't say anything but stared at him.

"Remy know he overreacted Chère, 'specially in front of ma petite fille. Illyana didn't need to see me like that," he said.

Rogue arched an eyebrow, "Well, I'm glad you realized that so quickly Swamp Rat."

"Remy expect it's gonna take a while before I be back to myself. You think you can put up with this Swamp Rat a little while longer?" he asked.

"Why? Is this Swamp Rat hanging around?" she countered.

"Seems so. Got no where else to go for the time being. Besides, thought it might be nice. Might even give us a chance to spend some time together."

Her eyebrow arched again, "Time together? Just what were you expecting Swamp Rat?"

Remy smiled, "Don't know, Remy thought he might take ya to a movie or dinner. I hear it's what all da kids are doing these days."

She smiled a little, "I guess if it's what everyone is doin' these days we outta join in, huh?"

Remy smiled, "Guess we should, when dis be all over. Right now, I've got some apologizing to do." With that he turned down the hallway in search of one friendship he hoped he could save.

Piotr and Illyana left that evening. When Rogue searched out Remy that evening she found him sitting outside smoking what had to be one of Logan's cigars. He didn't smoke often but admitted he hadn't felt up to going into town for cigarettes. Logan would probably let it slide. Once.

She sat down next to him but didn't attempt conversation. When his cigar was done he ground it out on the patio. He didn't attempt to make conversation either. They sat like that for a while. Rogue didn't even comment when she felt his hand take her gloved one. It wasn't until the house grew quiet that he finally stood and pulled her to her feet, "G'nite Chere," he said. "G'nite Remy," she replied before pulling her hand away and heading into the house before him.

The next day when Rogue headed downstairs to see Hank she carried everything she thought she would need. She wasn't even sure she wanted to follow through with it but she had offered to get Mia ready. Someone had to, she thought.

Hank wasn't in the room when she got there, it was near lunchtime though. His desk looked like it had been abandoned but not cleaned up. Rogue put the stuff down on a nearby table and wandered around the room. She was pushing it off she thought to herself. She could just leave the clothes and head back upstairs, tell Hank she hadn't the time.

"Oh Rogue! I wasn't sure when you were coming," came Hank's voice from the doorway.

Rogue turned around and plastered on a small smile, "I wasn't sure when would be good. I just got down here, was going to wait for you to make sure it was okay to start."

Hank put his plate down on his desk, "Of course, of course. Oh good, you found some clothes. These will do just fine," he said looking over what she brought. Rogue still carried Piotr's present in her pocket, she was nervous to leave it out less something happen to it.

She watched as Hank disappeared then heard the squeak of wheels as the table bearing Mia's body was wheeled over. Hank stopped in front of her and Rogue finally realized he was talking to her.

"Rogue? You're looking a bit extra pale. Are you sure you still want to do this. You don't have to you know," he told her. Rogue regained her composure, she had promised Piotr and she intended to go through with her promise.

"Sorry, I just got lost for a moment. I'll be fine," she assured him. He nodded, "I'll be at my desk if you need me. Take all the time you need."

When she was certain that Hank was back at his desk she looked around and found a small stool and a cart on wheels. She brought them over to the table and set herself up. Hank had turned down the sheet before he brought her out, she was exposed from about her collarbone up. Rogue went through her things and pulled out a hairbrush. After a few calming breaths she moved in and blinking back tears, prepared her friend to be buried.

Rogue found that after spending time brushing out Mia's hair and putting the pins in that she felt calmer. She thought Piotr would approve of the style and smiled a little. The pins might have been something that would normally attract a younger person, but Mia was still young in a sense. She hadn't had much of a chance to grow up as most people did. Rogue found them fitting.

She set about putting the other few pieces of jewelry on. Mia hadn't had much to start with so Rogue had augmented the collection with a few pieces of her own. She moved the sheet and slipped on the couple bracelets and a ring. Rogue paused and looked over Mia's hand and decided that she would do her nails as well. She was getting ready to paint them when Remy walked in.

As far as she knew, Remy hadn't seen Mia since that day. She hadn't mentioned either what she would be doing. Remy's surprise was obvious, but he held his composure and approached her. "Hey Chere, Hank told me you'd be here. He didn't tell Remy she'd be here though."

He approached the table and smiled, "Remy remember Petey buying those things," he said motioning to the hair pins.

Rogue smiled back, "I promised him I'd make sure she was wearing them."

Remy looked about and pulled up his own seat, "Don't let me stop ya Chere. Figured I'd keep ya company." Rogue smiled and looked through the case of things she had brought down. She pulled out a couple different colors and after a shake of the head from Remy, settled on the paler of the two.

"Wasn't even sure you owned any color but black," he commented.

She gave him a look, shook up the bottle and settled Mia's hand on her leg. She got the paint on one nail then frowned, it was a bit smudged and she couldn't fix it with her gloves on. She realized that she didn't really need to be wearing them, yet it felt odd to take them off to touch someone. Remy watched as she pulled off her gloves then offered to hold them.

"It don't seem right that I can touch someone cause they're dead but I can't touch them when they're alive," she said quietly. Remy nodded, "There'll be a way Rogue, Remy promise you that. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But it's gonna happen. And Remy will be right there. Remy here now," he told her. She smiled at him and couldn't help the color that came to her face. She picked up the bottle and set about fixing the nail color, anything to distract herself. She took her finger and went to run her nail along the edge of Mia's to collect the extra paint when she felt a familiar tingle and pulled away.

The look of concern on Rogue's face made Remy lean in, "What Chere?"

She shook her head for a moment, "I don't know. Remy, I've never touched anyone who was dead before. I don't think I can drain them right? I mean, there's nothing to drain. It's just, I thought, I thought I felt something." She set the bottle down, her hand was trembling.

"Rogue, Mia's gone. There can't be anything you can be taking from her, non? Maybe you need a break," he told her. Rogue looked back over at Mia. When she had pulled away the girl's arm was left hanging off the table. Maybe she had imagined it? When was the last time she had physically touched someone, skin to skin?

"I'll just do her nails, then I'll be done. I'm sorry Remy, maybe I'm just imagining things."

"It's alright Chere, I'll stay here with you, then we go get you some fresh air I think," he told her. She nodded but stared ahead. Scooting her chair back over towards the table she reached out to put Mia's hand back on her leg. The familiar feeling took over but she was too shocked to move. Images flooded into her mind, some familiar and others foreign. The escape, Logan and Remy fighting, explosions.

"Rogue! Rogue!" Remy was yelling. He pulled her away and she slid off the chair with a thump. Looking down at her hands they were glowing blue and she did her best to clear her mind and make it go away. That was a power that was stronger then she could handle and she wanted it controlled. Remy knelt down in front of her but was careful not to touch her, "Rogue, what happened?"

Rogue looked up at the table, "Remy I absorbed her. Do you know what that means?"

The two turned when they heard Hanks voice come from behind them, "It means she's not dead."


	12. Awakening

Chapter 12

**Awakening**

"Not dead? How is that possible?" Remy asked. The person in front of him was very, obviously, not living.

Hank sighed, "I've only spoken with the Professor about this, I need you two to understand that. I hadn't even considered you'd absorb her Rogue."

Remy helped Rogue stand back up and she quickly put her gloves back on. Images still swirled around in her head but they were growing fainter. Hank gestured for them to follow him and he lead them to his desk. After some quick typing he pulled images up on the screen.

"This is what a normal body looks like within 3 days of death. Within hours of dying the body starts going through rigor mortis. The body becomes stiff, hard to move. Mia's body hasn't gone through one single process that a person's body goes through upon death. It's why we haven't done an autopsy, we've pushed off the burial as long as possible because I couldn't be certain. You've only confirmed my suspicions Rogue."

"But that still doesn't explain how she's not dead? I mean, what is she then?" Rogue asked. Hank shrugged at that, "It's like she's in some sort of stasis. The Professor had even attempted to read her mind but there's no activity. In short, nothing is happening. She's not dead, but she's not alive either. We're not certain it's possible, but it's like she used her abilities on herself."

Rogue felt confused but Remy nodded. "Some abilities be like that. Look at mine, I can take the power out but put the power back in too. But Remy had to learn, took me time before I could reabsorb my own energy."

"Perhaps it was the urgency of the situation," Hank suggested.

He continued, "However, the only reason we are keeping this under wraps is because I can make no guarantees as to when she will awaken or even if she will at all. This is a new ability to us. Far stronger then what we are used to dealing with. The Professor is probably the only one who can come close to stopping people, but he doesn't stop time. And as far as we know, he can't do it to himself. The other problem is we don't know how close she was to drowning when she was in the water. I don't want to sit here and say she is going to wake up and be okay because we don't know that. Her lungs could be full of water, she could awaken but be near death. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up."

Rogue nodded, "What are you going to do about the burial then?" she asked. Hank sighed, "Delay, we'll come up with reasons that we're not ready. I'll need to speak with the Professor. Again, I'd like you two to keep this quiet. At least until we're ready to discuss it with a few of the others. I'd rather not everyone know."

Remy studied the girl in front of him for a moment, "Logan should know." Hank paused but nodded tentatively, "I'll discuss it with Charles. But please, allow us to make that decision before you go off telling him." Remy and Rogue agreed.

"If you two will excuse me then, I'm going to put her back. I have her in one of the rooms here off the back so that anyone coming in won't see her. I have her hooked up to a couple monitors so should she awaken when no one is present I will be alerted."

Hank wheeled the table to the back and disappeared. Remy and Rogue headed out of the med lab and proceeded upstairs. At the top of the stairs Remy stopped, "Why don't we go into town Chère. Remy needs something strong, and I'm guessing since you can't drink yet that should be coffee, non?" She smiled, getting out of the mansion seemed like just the thing. She needed to clear her head, literally.

**Russia**

The return of his children had been nothing short of amazing, Nikolai Rasputin thought. They had gone so long without even contact from their son, but hearing the whole story made him shake with anger. The small farming community they lived in had been overzealous. A welcoming party had been organized and thrown well into the night. Illyana was beside herself with joy at being reunited with her parents. At night she slept between them. It would take time, he and his wife had discussed, before she would feel comfortable sleeping in her own room. She would have to learn that she was safe.

His son had been a whole different matter. Piotr had always been quiet. His side of the story was brief and to the point. It was obvious that he had skipped some details. He was moody and as much as he made a point of thanking the community for welcoming them back, he did little to interact with people. For what time he had been back he spent working in the fields and fixing equipment. He made little effort to even hold up a conversation at home. More then once his mother had come to Nikolai, saying how she was worried, that something had happened and how she heard him crying out at night. Alexandra had spoken with her daughter and learned more details. His son was heartbroken, the girl had died. Illyana didn't have too much information, she had only met her a couple times.

Nikolai sighed, he hoped his son would come out of this daze soon. He made no comments of returning to the states or talking about his friends there. Illyana had said Piotr had told them he wouldn't be returning. He looked out over the field where he could see his son working on a plot of vegetables. The effort was nothing for him, but he was machine like, he took no joy in what he was doing. It was merely a distraction.

He sighed again, he seemed to be doing that an awful lot since Piotr returned.

**New York**

Charles and Hank had been in a lengthy discussion for some time now. They were in the med-lab in a back room studying the patient lying before them. Charles was adamant, he didn't want anyone else to know about Mia's condition. Even Logan. He hadn't taken Mia's "death" well and was worried what it would do to him if it were to happen a second time. Hank had to agree, it was a difficult situation and one they couldn't predict. He only had to hope that Rogue or Remy wouldn't say anything to him.

During their trip to get coffee, Remy and Rogue had discussed what to do about not just Logan but Piotr as well. Remy had tried a couple times to reach Piotr since his return home but Piotr had warned him it would be difficult. Cell phones didn't work well where he lived and his parents had no phone. He would call when he had the chance and had settled in. Remy worried for him and could only hope that being back with his family was helping him heal.

They decided it would be too much to tell either of the men. But it was a hard secret to keep when they'd pass by friends and see them still in mourning, wondering when the burial would be. The weather had at least created it's own delay. It had been raining for nearly two days. An excuse the Professor had used to his advantage. Rogue visited Mia at least once during those couple days and she knew Remy had snuck down here himself. Hank wasn't in the room when she got down there that day. Once she was sure no one was about she slipped into the back room to sit with her friend for a bit.

Five days.

It seemed way too long to be in such a state. In her mind she had seen snapshots of what had last happened. Saying goodbye to Piotr. Running through the building with Logan. The fighting with Logan and Remy again Sabertooth. The rocks crumbling was the last thing Rouge had seen in Mia's memories. She felt tempted to touch her again, see if she could learn anything new. She couldn't risk it however, Mia's powers were something too different for her to handle. How many more days could she stay like this and survive?

She heard the door crack open and looked over to see Remy peering in. He caught sight of her and smiled, "Figured when I couldn't find you anywhere else that you might be here," he told her. She smiled back. She didn't know how to explain her current relationship with Remy. Or if it really even was a relationship. He didn't hold back from touching her, but he was careful of her skin even when she'd flinch if she thought he was getting too close. He hadn't tried to make any moves either.

"Just visitin' for a bit. You needed me for something?" she asked.

Remy nodded, "Remy got a surprise for you Chère, if you got a minute." She rose and followed him out of the room. They headed out of the lab before she realized he was taking her to the Danger Room. When the doors behind them closed he pushed a few keys on the keyboard and the simulation took over.

"My surprise is a beach?" she asked with humor in her voice. It was a nice simulation she had to admit.

Remy smiled, "Been working on it for a while, like it non?"

"It's very nice Remy."

He chuckled, "May be the first time you calling me Remy Chère. But Remy had something else for ya. Something I've been having Hank work on." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat square box and handed it to her. Rogue looked at it quizzically and finally opened it to reveal a silver bracelet. It was thick, but not quite like a cuff and had a few gems set in it, most were black but there was one red one in the center. "It's nice Remy, thank you."

"Do you trust Remy?" he asked. This was a different response then she was expecting but she nodded. He took the bracelet out of the box then reaching up with his gloved hands, pulled her glove off. She flinched but continued to watch him. He opened the clasp then slipped it on before securing it.

"Dis be a very special bracelet Rogue," he moved a step closer. She did her best not to step back. Remy was wearing gloves she reminded herself. "Dis gem," he pointed to the red one, "works the bracelet. You push it to turn it on or off."

She frowned, "Why would I turn a bracelet on?"

He reached forward and took her hand then let his finger push down on the red button. For a moment, it was like a fine wave of electricity skirted over her skin, it made her shiver and gave her goosebumps. "What was that?"

Remy let go of her hand and removed his gloves. "You still trust me?"

It took her longer this time, but again, she nodded. Remy came slowly forward and started to take her hand, she flinched prepared for the pull, waited for the memories to start flooding her. She felt his hand take hers.

Nothing happened.

Finally she looked back at their hands. He was holding it with a big grin on his face as he took in her reaction. Rogue finally realized she wasn't breathing and took in a breath.

"I don't, I mean how? The bracelet?"

"When Magneto had us captured, we all wore inhibitors. Cuffs that locked on our wrists and kept us from usin' our powers. Remy made sure he kept a couple to bring back. Hank worked on it for a while to make it smaller and fit into a bracelet. He said he hopes he can make it even smaller for ya one day, like a ring or something. But it has to be on your skin Chère. He said since he had to change it to make it smaller, it's got to be touching your skin, not on your gloves. But you just press da red one again and it will turn off. He had to put in a battery too, but said he'd make you another one that hopefully you'll be able to charge eventually."

Rogue was speechless. She could touch people, Remy was still holding her hand. She pulled away and took off her other glove then reached out slowly and took both his hands. When nothing happened again she smiled, this time with tears.

"This is probably the best present I've ever gotten Swamp Rat."

He beamed, "Just glad it came from me Chère," he said before reaching up to wipe away her tears. She flinched, "Sorry, I guess I gotta get used to being touched."

"Oh you better Chère, Remy got plans to be touching you a lot," he said with a sly grin. She slapped him on the arm before pulling away and walking along their imaginary beach knowing Remy would catch up in a moment.

Later that night, Logan lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep but that wasn't really new, he only required a few hours each night. He circled the house a few times each night making sure everything was secure before retiring. It was habit, even if it wasn't always necessary he felt the need to do it every night.

He was just beginning to doze when he heard footsteps racing down the hall. They were heavy footsteps, not that of one of the kids and they were urgent. Logan lived at the end of the staff wing, who ever came running down that hall was an adult. Something had to be up.

He cracked open the door just in time to see a blur of blue round the corner.

Hank.

Logan slipped out of his room and followed, it was possible someone was hurt. He trailed behind a bit and watched Hank hop into the elevator to head downstairs. Probably to the med lab Logan thought. Logan hurried down the back way knowing it would be faster then waiting for the elevator to come back up. He got down in time to see Hank entering the med lab. Someone was screaming, or trying to.

Logan walked into the med lab, the sounds were in the back, he could hear Hank's voice rising above the noise. As far as Logan knew, no one was in the med lab to be treated. It didn't mean secrets weren't being kept though. That was the way of things around here sometimes.

He peered around the edge of the doorway and stopped. There lying in the bed was Mia, alive. She was struggling, heaving over the side of the bed crying. Hank was there, holding her on her side while trying to keep an eye on the monitors.

"Hank…" Logan started but he had no words. He'd spent days grieving the loss of someone he felt was practically his own daughter and yet there she was lying in bed alive.

She was sobbing, the heaves were dry by now but Hank kept her rolled over. Logan walked in and stood on the opposite side of the bed. Hank was busy putting in an IV, Logan reached over and took her free hand. Hank bent down with a cloth and wiped her face, Logan didn't even hear what he was saying.

Hank was worried, he was watching the monitors and she was struggling. Her heart rate was too fast, her breathing shallow. She had emptied her stomach of water but was still dry heaving. She started gasping for breath and Hank rolled her back over onto her back. He hooked her up to oxygen and watched. Tears were streaming down her face, she was disoriented. In her mind, she had just fallen in the water. Finally the numbers were going back to normal. It was a slow progression though, she was still too upset. Hank headed over to the cabinet and pulled out a syringe then searched out a small bottle and plunged the syringe in. He headed back to the IV and injected it in and waited. Her breathing eventually slowed and her eyes began to droop.

"Just rest Mia, you're fine now," he told her. She still hiccupped a bit but the tears eventually stopped and she fell asleep. All the time Logan was still sitting next to her holding her hand. Hank threw away the syringe and sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the bed. He sighed and watched the monitors, everything seemed better. He ran a hand over his face and stared over at Logan. Logan was just staring at Mia.

"Logan, I'm sure you have questions," Hank stated.

Logan merely nodded, "I don't really care what happened Hank. She's going to be okay, right?" Hank nodded in return.

"Then that's all that matters."


	13. Recovery

**Chapter 13**

Recovery

Logan spent much of the night and part of the next day sitting by her bedside. Hank was unsure how much she would sleep. The result of over using her abilities was that she would be exhausted and sleep for a few hours. Even in their limited testing, she had never been able to stop anything for more then a few hours. Inanimate objects were easier she had said, they required less focus. She once stopped Jamie while he was throwing a ball. The ball stayed where it was for nearly 4 hours. Jaime was himself after only 40 minutes. He'd been brave to volunteer, Logan thought.

She'd also be exhausted after the ordeal. A number of the mutants who had returned from Magneto's base had spent the next couple days recovering. Logan didn't need that sort of time although he probably slept a bit longer then usual that first night.

Remy and Rogue had come and gone. The news had spread fast but no one else had been permitted down to see her. Hank was hopeful for a full recovery. So far from his tests everything seemed to be alright, anything else had to wait until she woke up. The Professor had scanned her mind while she slept. Even he could see no real damage, mentally at least.

The worst of the situation so far was that no one could get in contact with Piotr. The Professor was doing his best and Remy had made numerous phone calls but they were either not going through or being ignored.

Logan sighed. His stomach growled and he looked at his watch. He hadn't left the room at all for hours. Lunch was nearly over and the last thing he ate was an apple that morning. And a beer. That had been needed.

Noises from the bed, however, shut up the noises in his stomach. Mia moaned and tried to shift and hissed between her teeth at the pain. It took her a minute to open her eyes and let them focus. Logan was immediately there holding her hand and pressing on the call button to alert Hank.

"Hey Darlin', nice of you to join us."

She focused on him for a minute before trying to speak, but her voice came out barely above a whisper. Logan reached over to the side table and grabbed a cup with a straw.

"Here, Hank said if you woke up you could try a bit of water. But he says go slow, something about your stomach," Logan couldn't remember, he'd been too busy being happy she was alive.

Mia nodded and with help took a couple small sips of water, then tried speaking again. This time it was a bit louder but still hoarse. "When did I get back here?" she asked. "It's been about 6 days now. You woke up about 12 hours ago. How'd you do it kid?"

Mia shrugged then winced, "I didn't know it would work. I couldn't think of anything else to try. I wasn't even sure the bracelet was off." Logan noticed as she winced again, "What hurts?"

"Truthfully? Everything." she said. "It hurts when I talk, my throat, across here," she said putting her hand along her ribs. "I ache all over."

"You fell from a pretty tall height, it's not surprising," Hank said as he stood in the doorway. "We are quite happy to have you back here with us."

"It's good to be back, pain or no."

"Well the good news is the pain in your throat should subside quickly, I'll give you some lozenges to help with that. That's mostly from your episode last night." She looked at him in confusion so he continued, "You got sick from all the water you ingested. Your throat is just raw from throwing up. The rest of the pain we will have to investigate. I would suspect you probably cracked a rib or two. We'll get you checked out now that you're awake."

A few tests later revealed that she had indeed cracked two of her ribs. "It will heal in time," Hank told her. He instructed her on how many painkillers to take. "You have to take it easy for a while. Nothing strenuous. We'll see after six weeks if you're ready for training again," he looked at Logan for that one.

"How long do I need to stay in bed?," she asked.

"Not long, I would give yourself a few days until it doesn't hurt as much. You can walk around but breathing in deep is going to hurt for a short while. So I wouldn't set out on any long walks around the mansion or anything."

"Would I be able to go back upstairs?" she asked Hank hopefully. She was already feeling caged in down in the medlab. She'd gotten used to windows.

"I see no reason why not. I'd like you to spend the rest of the day down here for observation purposes. But most likely I can have you back up there by dinner time."

Mia smiled, "Thank you Hank. I just get uncomfortable down here after a while."

Logan chimed in, "I'll make sure your room is ready. But, oh…" he trailed off.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, um, here's the thing kid. Since we thought you were dead, I think they passed along a lot of your things to the others. You know, clothes and stuff."

After a minute she realized he wasn't joking, "My clothes are all gone!" she yelled, then instantly regretted the pain that went through her ribs.

Hank stepped in, "I'm sure we can relocate many of the pieces. I'll ask Rogue, I believe she was given the task."

Mia seemed temporarily appeased by that suggestion. Logan only hoped they could find everything.

In the end the task wasn't that difficult. Rogue still had the box of Mia's more personal belongings since she hadn't decided what to do with them. A few quick announcements and most of the items found their way back or were promised to be returned. Rogue considered that was pretty good considering how many mutants had already left the mansion. She made sure everything was back the way it was before Mia had disappeared. Rogue glanced around the room once more and with a nod of her approved. "Alright Cajun, I think I'm done here," she told Remy who sat on the bed that had belonged to Piotr. He hadn't been of any assistance really, Rogue thought.

Remy grunted and stood, "How's about we pay a visit, non?" Rogue agreed and they headed down to the med lab to visit their friend. Mia was propped up slightly, Logan was sitting next to her and she was frowning over the cup of gelatin left in front of her.

"Sorry, Doc's orders," Logan told her as he took a few bites of his own sandwich.

"Dat's just mean homme," Remy told him. "Yeah Logan, you're eating a sandwich in front of her and she's not allowed anything but jello?" Rogue asked. Logan took the last few bites and finished them off.

"Hank says if she eats this, then she can have something heavier at dinner. He wants to make sure this stays down first. I don't blame him after last night," Logan explained. Mia still frowned but poked the cup of gelatin with her spoon. She ate a bite and waited, when nothing bad happened she ate a few more spoonfuls until the cup was empty.

"I'm going to be starving by dinner. I'll be starving in like an hour," she told Logan. He picked up the garbage to throw away. "You keep that down and I'll talk to Hank," he said as he left the room.

Rogue stole his seat and Remy pulled over the extra chair. "So, how you feelin' petite?" he asked. She sighed, "Good as can be expected, ready to go back to my room. I have to take it easy for a few days but hopefully I'll be back to good in no time."

Remy nodded, "I'm glad to hear it. You gave ole Remy a heart attack you know. Thought I'd killed ya."

"Remy I don't remember much but I know you're not to blame. It was Sabertooth."

Remy gave her a half hearted smile, "I'm glad to know you don't blame me petite. But Remy blamed himself for a long time. You don't have to worry 'bout Sabertooth no more."

"I know, Logan told me. I can't say I'm upset over it. I don't like the idea of Logan killing anyone but…," she trailed off.

"It needed doing, petite."

Rogue decided to turn the conversation around, "I got your room all ready. Found most of your stuff. I'm sorry about that by the way."

Mia smiled, "It's not your fault. Who could have known?"

Rogue smiled in return, "I know. I had most of your stuff set aside because I hadn't decided what to do with it. I put it all back. Clean bedding, towels, everything is ready for you to move back in tonight. I talked to Hank. I'm going to sleep in your room for tonight and the next couple incase you need anything. He thinks it'll hurt ya to get out of bed on your own in the middle of the night if you were needing to get up. But he said if you seem okay after tonight we won't need to do it anymore. I figured we can have one of our movie nights," she commented. Mia was ecstatic, "That's great! I was worried I'd be bored."

Rogue looked across the bed and shot Remy a look. Remy stood up and stretched, "It's good to see ya petite. Remy'll check in on you again later. Got something to do right now."

"What was that about?" Mia asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you in private," Rogue said stretching out her hand and taking her friends. Mia's mind was sluggish, it took her a minute to realize what was going on.

"Rogue! You're touching me! How?" she asked looking down at their hands. Rogue pulled her hand away and showed Mia the bracelet on her wrist.

"Hank was able to make adjustments to the inhibitors. Remy brought some back with him thinking it would help me. It's amazing! The only reason we knew for certain you weren't dead was because I touched you. Before I had this, I mean. It was after all that that Remy brought the bracelet to me. It has its limitations. But it's already amazing."

"That's great Rogue. I'm so happy for you. And now I don't have to worry that we'll bump into each other tonight," she laughed thinking of the last time they watched a movie together. "Dare I ask though if things have progressed between you and Remy?"

Rogue's cheeks colored, "Better left for our time tonight. He's growing on me a bit more than I expected."

Mia reached out and took her friends hand, "I really am happy for you Rogue," her smiled faltered a bit. "What's the matter, shug?"

A few tears slipped out, "I'm sorry. I am happy for you and I don't mean to turn this around on myself but I just miss him."

Rogue didn't have to question who 'him' was. She climbed on the bed next to her friend and leaned against her. "Remy's been looking hard for him. He and the Professor have. It's just hard where he is, he told us before he left it might be difficult to get in touch with him. Don't worry, we'll find him."

Mia nodded, "I know. He doesn't even know I'm alive though. What if he hasn't wanted to be contacted? What if he's just ignoring his phone?" she worried.

"Then I'll send Remy to personally find him. He would do it too. Especially if I asked," she assured her friend. Mia let out a watery laugh, "I'm sure he would do it for you too."

The color on her friend's cheek was enough to confirm that.

"Well you think about what movie you want to watch tonight and I'll have it all ready for us," Rogue told her. Mia spent the rest of the afternoon resting. She was still rather exhausted and slept on and off. Hank later brought her soup to try and she had to control herself she was starving. She downed it and after no ill effects, Hank deemed it would be okay for her to join the others at dinner if she wished. Little bites and take it easy, he had suggested.

She wasn't sure she was ready to join everyone and asked about being able to return to her room. Hank cleared her after a few more tests and removed her IV. After searching a bit he found a wheelchair and brought it in for her. It was a delicate transition from the bed to the chair. The few times she had gotten up to take care of personal matters it hurt badly. She was relieved to know Rogue would be in the room with her tonight, she was going to need help. Hank wheeled her to the elevator and helped her get to her room.

They passed any number of people who smiled and stopped her and there were many people she didn't even recognize. Logan had told her there were a number of new mutants from Magneto's base who had chosen to stay on or others who were here only temporarily. When she reached her room she looked about to see other then a few things out of place it looked pretty much the same as it had when she had left with Logan on that day to visit her family. It seemed nearly ages ago.

"Do you want to join the others for dinner, you have a bit of time," Hank informed her. Mia considered it but declined, "I think I'll see about having someone bring me a plate. I don't feel ready to join everyone."

Hank nodded and helped her up from the wheelchair into her bed. "You'll feel better before you know it. Just enjoy this time and rest up. I'll let Rogue know and see if she'll bring you something after she eats. Don't feel afraid to ask for help."

"Thank you Hank, I appreciate it. I think right now I'm just going to enjoy being back in my room." Hank smiled, "Then let me do you a favor and open these up for you," he said going to the curtains. The sun was still up but it was starting to dip a little. Hank excused himself and Mia found herself staring out the window until the sun went down. She turned on the small bedside lamp and looked around the room. Someone had taken care to make Piotr's bed too. She almost got ahead of herself when she remembered that was because Rogue was spending the night.

Looking over at the bedside table she noticed a few books stacked. They were obviously from Rogue. She flipped them around and reviewed them before settling on one and starting in. She was nearly a quarter way through the book when someone knocked on her door.

Rogue let herself in carrying a small tray with what would be a couple visitors in tow. Kitty and Kurt sat with her while she picked from the tray. Rogue was obviously in charge though and she had them on their way in under ten minutes. Another knock came and Rogue looked back at her to decide if she wanted any more company. This time it was Jamie. He sat down next to her and Mia could tell it was doing all he could to hold back a couple tears. She patted his hand and assured him she was okay. Mia let him go on for a bit until he seemed calmed down and promised that as soon as she was better they would do something together. He seemed happier after that and left when Rogue told him it was time for her to rest.

Finally free she finished what was left on the tray and Rogue cleaned everything up promising to return in a bit with her laptop and the movies.

It was a perfect way to spend her first night back, as well as the next couple nights. After about three days Mia declared she was okay enough to be left alone for the night, the pain had decreased enough that she could get out of bed on her own. She was slowly getting back into routine. Going downstairs for all her meals and spending time in the community room with all the other students. A few more of the mutants had left in the last few days but the mansion was still busy. She met some of the newer mutants and was surprised to learn some of them had been held at Magneto's base the same time she was. It was somewhat cathartic to talk to others who were going through the same situations she had faced. Other then Logan, no one else could really understand.

It dawned on her later one day that there was a face she hadn't seen.

"What ever happened to your friend John?" she had asked Remy.

"Remy still talk to him, he asks how things are going. But he's decided to lay low, out of Magneto's radar for a bit. He been talking 'bout going home. Don't know that he has yet."

Going home.

Piotr had gone home. They still couldn't get in contact with him at all. She'd been awake nearly a week now. Remy had left messages, the Professor, even herself. Finally his inbox was full and they couldn't leave anymore. Piotr was never one to make his friends worry. He wouldn't want anyone upset. That's what bothered her more then anything else. It wasn't his way to handle things. He'd have at least answered a call even if it was to say he wasn't ready to talk, to ask to be left alone. Someone needed to find him. If she was missing, Piotr would come looking for her. So it was only right that she go looking for him.

"No." Logan told her.

"We'll continue to try and contact him. Please give him some more time." Professor Xavier had suggested.

"I'm sorry, I can't control Cerebro as well as the Professor. That's too great a distance for me," Jean apologized.

"Sure petite. Remy'll find him," she had nearly cried when he agreed.

"How? And I'm coming with you," she told him.

"It was never a question. Course Petey would want to see you. How is a harder question, non?"

"No one else will let me go Remy. However you decide we're going to do this you have to get them to agree that I can go."

He smiled, "If they don't, Remy'll smuggle you in. No problem, petite."

Remy was confident but in the end it didn't help any. He was shot down from every angle. No one wanted Mia to go anywhere at the moment. As far as they knew, Magneto and Mystique were still out there. The Professor didn't want to spare the jet incase they needed to go on a mission. Piotr wasn't in any danger. He would get the messages eventually but he was probably still grieving. That one hurt her the worst. There was nothing to grieve but Piotr didn't know that.

She had finally given up and laid on her bed and sobbed until the tears had run dry. That night she dreamed. Everything was underwater, everyone as well. Bodies were bloated from being submerged for so long. Logan, Rogue, Remy, Jamie… Piotr.

She couldn't get her bearings, didn't know what way was up. Something tugged on her ankle and pulled her deeper. It was Sabertooth with his feral grin pulling her down into the darkness.

Then she was awake, gasping for air. Her lungs hurt and she held her ribs, the deep breaths aching in her still healing chest. She glanced at the clock and realized it was 3 a.m. She couldn't even remember when she had fallen asleep. She was still dressed.

Shakily she went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Her reflection in the mirror wasn't her at her best. Dark circles and red eyes, splotchy skin. She turned away in disgust then headed to her dresser to pull on something more comfortable. When she was done she looked at her bed. The problem was she didn't want to be in it alone.

Sabertooth was gone, but it had all felt so real. Padding down the hallway quietly she went to the one person who at the moment could help.

Logan heard footsteps outside the door before the slight knock. He never slept deeply, part of his years of conditioning. "Come in kid," he called.

"Trust you to know it's me before I even get here," she said as she closed the door behind her. Logan didn't even need to ask what was wrong, he scooted over and flipped down the covers. "Get in," he said. When she had settled herself in he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" but even she could tell he was hoping she wouldn't.

"In the morning. Right now I just need the dreams to go away." He grunted and rolled back over and turned out the lamp. She laid there awake for a little while before he heard her breath slow and was certain she was asleep. Then he let himself go back to bed.

When she woke up in the morning she was by herself. It was late, nearly 10 a.m. Logan would have woken up hours ago for training. She glanced out the window and was suddenly shocked by what she saw.

Snow.

When had she last seen snow? She couldn't even remember. It wasn't a lot, at least not yet. But just enough that everything was slightly coated. The world looked quiet, still. She wanted to be out in it.

She rushed to her room and found a few things to pull on. They had done most of her shopping back in the summer. She was severely lacking when it came to winter clothing. She pulled on a few layers of everything, grabbed a coat and headed outside.

That's how Logan came to find her, standing in the middle of the back lawn. A fine layer of snow already clinging to her. He handed her a hat and gloves then put his own scarf around her.

"I haven't seen snow since I was a kid," she told him quietly. It was if speaking louder would ruin it all.

He grunted then let her stand out there for a bit longer until he decided it was too cold for her in her makeshift snow suit and brought her inside. Mia hadn't realized how cold she was until she was peeling off wet layers of clothing.

Once they were done Logan got her situated with a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen then took a seat across from her.

"I've been doing some talking with the Professor," he commented. She tore her gaze away from the window. "About what?"

"He's agreed to allow you to look for Piotr."

"When can I go?" she asked. She'd go that second if she could.

"The Professor has agreed but on his terms. We wait a few more days and see if we get any response. During this time wants to continue his search for Magneto and Mystique to see if they are in a position to launch an attack. If everything checks out, you'll be allowed to go. Remy had already agreed to go with you and Ororo has volunteered to take you there."

"Are you coming?" she asked. "If you want me to, I'd come. You know that," he told her. She smiled, "Of course, please come with us?" He nodded then took a sip of his drink.

"You still never told me, what happened last night. It's okay though, if you don't want to. I understand. Nightmares are a bitch."

She looked over a little shocked at his words but he shrugged as if to say "Well they are."

"I was drowning," she started off quietly. "We all were. Everyone was underwater and had been for some time. I couldn't find my way out, then Sabertooth was there pulling me down even further," her voice finished in anger.

Logan took her hand, "He's gone kid. I saw to that. He can't do anything to you, not even in your head."

Mia had headed upstairs to take a hot shower after that. Finally her body felt warm. It would be a long wait these next few days.

It was to her shock then, when after only two days the Professor called her into his office along with Logan, Remy and Ororo. They were cleared to leave immediately and would add to their team Scott and Jean.

"Why do we need so many people?" Mia asked.

The Professor wheeled over in front of her and took her hands.

"Because I'm afraid I've found Magneto. And it would seem he has found Piotr."


	14. Rescue

Ch 14

The flight was long, painfully so. It took all of them to keep Mia from freaking out at various intervals. The Professor's news about Magneto had sent her into a full on panic attack that ended with her back in the med lab. A few of them decided that it would be better off if she waited back at the mansion. Logan and Remy had stuck up for her. Once she was cleared by Hank she had hastily packed a bag and joined the others for the trip.

Hank had slipped Logan a couple pills, "Only if she seems to be losing it," he advised. She'd taken one about a few hours into the trip. Everything was mostly hazy and she didn't feel worried at all. Just sat in one of the chairs and listened to whoever was talking to her. Sometimes it was Logan, other times Remy. Ororo was flying the jet, Jean assisting her. Scott sat upfront and went over all the information that Professor Xavier had given them.

Some of the words reached her, _Attack, Possible Causalities, Fires_… but the medicine kept her from reacting. Good, she didn't want to know how she'd react.

She dozed off for a while, when she woke they were out over the water. The effects of the medicine had worn off at this point. Looking next to her she realized Remy seemed to be on duty. "How much more time do we have?" she asked. Remy looked down at his watch, "Still got a while. Another 4-5 hours at least. How you feeling?"

"Okay, at the moment. Hungry actually," Remy smiled at that then reached down to a backpack at his feet before tossing her a bag. "Here, should take the edge off."

She gobbled up the chips before she knew it and took a bottle of water from another compartment. Satisfied she slouched back into her chair.

"Do we know anything new?" she questioned.

"Not much. Professor says it looks like the military stepped in. It hasn't much hit the news yet. We won't really know till we get there," he told her.

He reached over and squeezed her hand, "Petey's tough. You of all people know that."

He was tough, she thought. But she had no idea what he had been through since leaving the mansion. What if he wasn't? She returned Remy's grip and did her best to remain positive. He'd be there for his sister, his family. He would do everything he could to protect them. Because in the end that's what Piotr really was, not tough but protective.

The last remaining hours dragged on. Remy and Logan had switched, she felt like she was being babysat. _They probably are, _she thought. She couldn't fault them though. They were the two who had stuck up for her and for them she would keep it together. Logan caught her up on some things, what they expected to find. They wouldn't be able to land too close, they'd need to drive in. A couple hours from the airport. More time spent waiting. If she wasn't sure they'd leave her in the plane she'd ask for another pill.

It was dark when they landed, the airport they had landed in was small, practically a field. A few vehicles sat off to the distance. Obviously occupied and waiting.

"Who are they?" Mia asked.

"An old friend of mine," Logan told her.

They disembarked and headed towards the cars where a gentleman approached. He and Logan greeted each other with a friendly handshake before Logan turned to introduce him. "This is Artyom. He and I go way back, used to be military. He's going to help us get into the town."

The man laughed, "And now I am clear of Logan's debt. Please, follow me to the cars and I will tell you what I can."

He was clearly older looking than Logan, but then again, Logan didn't age at the same rate as others, if at all. His hair was salt and pepper but closely cropped, he carried himself like someone formerly in the military.

Logan, Remy and Mia climbed into the one vehicle with Artyom. The others into the second car, a third armed car in the rear. Protection, Artyom had told them. They weren't sure what they would encounter.

"What my military contacts have told me is, there have been no new attacks. Just the initial one." Mia understood that to mean that Magneto had already cleared out. With the Professor's difficulty in tracking him, he couldn't be certain if Magneto was still nearby. However he had managed to locate Mystique. She wasn't in Russia, so the Professor's bet was neither was Magneto.

"Many of the buildings were destroyed, the town suffered from fires that quickly took the older wooden buildings. Your friend, I understand is on one of the farms. They are further out but some took damage. If he was the target of this attack like you think, then it is possible he is one of the more damaged properties. You have to understand, many of these buildings are older, they are not built to the standards that you have. They are not as safe as they could be."

"Did they give you an idea as to how the attack happened?" Mia asked over the lump in her throat.

"They said first the village was hit, that the ground shook and fires broke out from the fireplaces as the buildings collapsed. He was not alone this man. Reports said he had people with him. Other mutants. A woman who had blue skin and a boy who could control the ground. Another that could send blasts from their hands, they don't know if there were more."

"We don't know if we escaped with all the mutants from his base. Or even if the ones who got out weren't taken again. He might have been forming his own team all along," Logan speculated.

Artyom continued, "After that the attacks spread out to the neighboring farms. We don't have any official word yet on injuries or casualties. It will take us some time still to get there, the roads get rougher. They are not paved as you head out into the more remote areas. The recent snow storms will make things slow."

The idea that it would take some time didn't deter Mia from staring out the window. Eventually she let her head rest against the cool glass and continued to stare out blankly. Few lights dotted the distance, every now and then she made out what she thought was a village. The area they had left was the closest in terms of a city. Even that was no bigger then downtown Bayville. The airport, it was explained, was mostly used by crop dusters and deliveries.

The roads had turned bumpier and harder to navigate. Much traffic hadn't passed through to take out the snow on the road but the large trucks prevailed. "We're about twenty miles out," Artyom finally announced after nearly two hours. It was a terribly long twenty miles. Eventually they could see lights in the distance. These weren't the lights from windows and fireplaces. These were floodlights on trucks lighting up areas set aside for triage and care. Lights from fires that still hadn't stopped burning. Even in the car the smell of smoke reached them. Mia sat up straighter poised on the edge of the seat, her hands gripping the headrest in front of her.

They pulled up alongside another vehicle and Artyom rolled down the window to speak with someone in Russian. She could tell he was explaining something, asking for someone. The wait was painful. Finally a man who appeared to be in charge came over to talk to them. Again, Artyom explained and they were instructed that they would have to walk if they wanted to get anywhere. The vehicles would not fit through the now destructed streets.

"Where do we have to go?" Mia asked ready to sprint down the road. "We think we know which one is his based off of information the Professor was able to find us," Scott told her. "I've asked if they've seen anyone matching his description but they say they haven't seen anyone in the village area. Most likely means he's still at his family's farm," Artyom told them.

The people here would know Piotr, any one that size would easily stick out. They headed in as a group but it was obvious they were the ones who stuck out, people shrunk back unsure. Jean wanted to check the triage area, see if he was there, possibly offer help. Ororo stepped in to help put out fires. People seemed unsure but less threatened. Mia hoped it would get them to answer questions. They walked through rows of people laid out waiting for medical attention. She eventually stopped a woman going down the rows. "Piotr Rasputin?" she said, knowing that any other words would probably go misunderstood. She shook her head and continued on. Mia tried again with another gentleman but he too shook his head. "I don't know if they're telling me he's just not here or if they don't know who he is." Piotr had told her it wasn't a large town, most people knew each other. She stopped when she felt someone tugging on her pant leg. An older man was lying down on a makeshift bed, she knelt down and looked at him.

"Rasputin," the man said pointing at her.

Mia quickly got down on the ground, "Yes, yes. I'm looking for the Rasputin's farm. Piotr Rasputin and Illyana." She didn't know his parents names. But the man understood and began pointing. Mia turned and looked, the lane continued on out into the darkness. She could only assume this was the direction towards the farms. "Rasputin," she said pointing, confirming what he said. "Da, Da," he held up his hand. Four fingers.

"Four," she said holding up the same number on her hand.

Scott looked at the papers they had. "Fourth farm," he said. "That's what the Professor thought too."

She turned back to the old man, "Thank you. Thank you so much." He nodded and patted her hand and pointed again for them to go that way. She rose and turned to the others. Artyom looked at the military man who was still with them and conversed in Russian. Mia could tell by his tone of voice it wasn't good.

Artyom looked over at Logan, "He says there were two farms that took a hard hit. If he's right, your friend's farm was one of them. It's just over a mile down the road. They haven't been able to get out to them yet. The roads were destroyed."

Someone brought them flashlights and they headed out onto the road. Jean and Ororo stayed behind to help where they could since it seemed that their attackers were gone.

The trek was hard, made harder by craters or fallen trees. Someone had gone out of their way to destroy the road. Make it impassable. Scott blasted a few of the larger things in their path. The snow was still thick here.

One farm. This one seemed mostly okay from the distance.

Two farms. This one must be the other that hadn't fared as well. The home sat closer to the road, easier to attack.

Three farms. Again hard to tell, it sat back off the road but it looked like lights were on.

Four farms.

Mia caught herself gasping.

Piotr had once drawn her a picture of his house. She still had that picture somewhere in a small sketchbook he had started before he left. It was one level, made of wood and stone, a small garden in the front full of flowers in warmer weather that his mother tended. A smaller plot in the back he had said, for herbs. A decent sized barn beyond that where his family kept a couple animals and equipment. Then the field. He had colored it in, saying that this is what it looked like in spring time. It was lovely.

Now with the sun beginning to rise the house was better coming into view. Half of it appeared crumbled. The barn looked mostly unharmed and the sound of animals occasionally reached their ears. Smoke still rose from a few places but fires looked mostly burnt out. Crying.

"Illyana," Remy said taking off. It took Mia a moment to get her feet working but soon she was right there behind him.

"Illyana!" Remy hollered.

She was sure the others were following them but hadn't cared if they weren't. The path up to the house was long, but it had been cleared. Remy ran around to the back of the house, past what would be the flower garden and stopped when something crashed into him.

"Dyadya Remy!" she cried as he scooped her up and held her. Remy could only feel how freezing she was and quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around her.

"You hurt petite?" he asked. She shook her head understanding his words. He looked her over and other then what appeared to be a few scrapes and bruises she seemed outwardly unhurt.

"Illyana, where's Piotr? Is everyone else alright?" Mia asked. Illyana broke down sobbing and Remy picked her up, stroking her hair and whispering to her. Mia passed them and headed around the corner until Logan stopped her. He sniffed the air, "Blood," was all he said. The pit at the bottom of her stomach threatened to swallow her. She shook her head to clear it, she had to go on. Logan walked a few paces ahead of her now.

"Jesus."

Mia steeled herself and looked around him. Piotr lay on the ground in the snow, he was unmoving and ill dressed to be out in such weather. But the gut wrenching worst part of it was the two fresh mounds of earth he lay between, a shovel still near his side. Illyana broke down more and Remy disappeared into the remainders of the house with her. The others pushed passed her and hurried to Piotr's side. It took all of them just to move him out of the snow and towards the house. Scott started a fire, the fireplace thankfully on the side of the house that had withstood the attack.

Mia made it to the doorway and stared inside. Piotr had told her off of the kitchen was the living area, most of that still stood. Through the door off the kitchen took you to his room he had explained in his drawing. They had added on to the house especially for him when he had grown so tall that he had to duck through the doorways. There were two rooms on the other side of the house, his parents and Illyanna's.

Thinking back, it had been nearly a full day since they learned of the attack. Between the time to put together preparations and to travel, it easily could have been the middle of the night when they were attacked. Looking at Illyana curled up in Remy's lap, she looked dressed for bed. A pair of pants and boots hastily thrown on under a nightgown. Piotr was in sweatpants and a couple layers of shirts, not nearly enough to be protected outside. Remy and Artyom worked on getting answers from Illyana as best they could but she kept breaking down into tears.

She finally managed to make it to Piotr's side. They were trying to warm him up, she took his hand and it felt like ice. It was red from the cold but rough from work, scratched and dirty. She held it between both of hers to warm it up. Further investigation revealed welts and bruises. A lump above his temple. Varying degrees of scratches and cuts. A few burns. A drop fell on Piotr's hand and she realized she was crying.

The others moved in a team-like fashion. Scott and Logan working to clean the cuts and bandage them with the supplies they had brought. Artyom was relaying information to the military man. He in turn was speaking over the radio. A helicopter. They were going to get a helicopter.

Remy, with some assistance from Illyana, moved about the house and started putting things in bags. Illyanna's room was blocked off as was her parent's, Piotr's was accessible. They filled up bags with pictures, important papers and some of Piotr's belongings. They'd come back when they could, he told her, but it was important to take what they could now incase something happened to the house.

Piotr's eyelids flickered open and he looked at Mia for a moment. He mumbled something she barely caught and she turned to look at Artyom who was nearby. "What'd that mean?" she asked. Artyom shook his head, "He's delusional. He thinks you are a ghost." Mia nodded, Artyom wouldn't understand, but to Piotr she was indeed a ghost. He had closed his eyes, but the fact that he had said anything gave her confidence.

"We won't really know the extent of his injuries until we get him back to Hank. But nothing seems life threatening," Scott assured her. The gentleman from the military talked to Artyom. "They'll have a helicopter soon. They can take him straight to the air field, but I'm afraid it's not big enough to hold all of you. He says two of you may go along plus the little girl. The rest we will have to drive back. They are only offering to make one trip." A few eyes settled on her.

"Jean," Mia spoke up. "She's the most medically trained of all of us. She should go back. And Remy. So Illyana has you. She knows you the best."

"Jean and Ororo should be here soon, I contacted Jean when we got here," Scott said.

Logan looked across Piotr's body to Mia, "You sure kid?" he asked quietly.

Mia only nodded.

Jean and Ororo arrived shortly after. Once appraised of the situation they agreed that it was best that Jean go along. The sounds of a helicopter could be heard from a distance and part of the group moved outside to greet it. Mia didn't move from holding Piotr's hand.

She heard the helicopter land and people began to spill into the house. A stretcher was brought in and it took many hands to get Piotr strapped in and loaded. Jean climbed in and Remy handed Illyana up, he threw a glance back over at Mia, offering one last time but she shook her head and urged him in. Illyana quickly climbing into his lap and holding on for dear life. The door closed, the vehicle lifted up and off until they could see it no longer in the now bright sun.

"Best start walking," Logan told her. The group moved quietly down the road and through the town to their awaiting vehicles. No one spoke. Mia climbed up into the truck and Logan followed her. Scott and Ororo volunteered to ride in the other.

They were giving her some space, she realized, and was thankful.

The cars headed back the way they came and for a while the ride was quiet. Artyom offered no conversation, perhaps aware of the emotions of the group. Logan wanted to give Mia time, allow her to sort out her thoughts. They were about half way through their trip when she finally spoke.

"How will he ever forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive darlin'," he told her. He reached out to take her hand but she brushed him off. "No, I'll crack. How can you say that? If he hadn't done…"

He cut her off, "I don't think you forced him to do anything he wasn't planning on doing already. He chose to do these things. He chose to escape with you. He chose to return. And you know nothing we said could have stopped him from going back."

She shook her head. "He'd be better off never having taken me out of there."

"I doubt Petey feels that way. Once he realizes you're alive I don't think he'll regret anything kid."

Mia turned away, she couldn't keep her thoughts from racing. He might be happy to realize she was alive until he remembered his parents were gone. The guilt was eating her up.

When they finally reached the jet, Jean was already prepared for takeoff. Piotr and Illyana were in the back of the jet. Illyana asleep in Remy's arms, Piotr on the table strapped in. Jean had started an IV and had cleaned him up a bit more. He was buried under a few layers of blankets, already some color was returning to his face. Behind her Ororo was busy double checking their list for take off and the others were strapping themselves into their seats. Remy was buckled in with Illyana across his lap, also wrapped in a couple blankets. She hesitated for a moment before taking a seat in the back row and strapping herself in.

From the seat in front of her, Logan passed her a small pill. She took it dry and gladly. For the next few hours she'd enjoy the haze and contentment of not knowing what was going on. She'd ignore the looks, the whispered words and the man lying prone in the back room. If she was a coward so be it.

Once Logan was sure she was asleep he moved up front to join the group. Jean described most of Piotr's injuries as superficial but they would need the med lab's equipment to be certain about the blow to the head. There was only so much she could do on the jet. He had woken up once while she was setting up the IV. His words were in Russian but Jean had scanned his mind. She had quickly retreated, the memories were far to emotional. Jean could only console him and he quickly fell back into unconsciousness. Illyana's injuries were less but similar.

"The house collapsed while they were in bed. Illyana let me scan her mind. It happened quickly. She'd just left her room for a glass of water or else the collapse would have probably taken her life too. Piotr pulled them from the rubble but it was too late. From her mind I could only see bits and pieces, Piotr had her hide in the barn. Magneto's voice was there, the ground shook quite a bit. I'd have to see in Piotr's mind to understand what fully happened. But it was too overwhelming. Perhaps when he wakes up, he'll be willing to talk about it."

Ororo spoke up, "Scott and I spoke with the Professor on the ride back. He's actively searching for Magneto and his group. The med lab and Hank will be prepared for our return."

They settled in for the remainder of the flight, alternating taking turns sleeping. It had been a long trip, more mentally exhausting than anything. It was rather a relief that they hadn't had to fight. However, they were sure the battle would be fought.

It was now a matter of when not if.

During her conscious hours, Mia did everything to avoid the backroom. She heard voices now and again but none sounded like Piotr. Illyana had probably woken up, Jean made several trips to the back to check on their conditions.

Landing was a relief.

Mia waited until Piotr had been unloaded and taken to the med lab. Remy ushered Illyana off as well. Jean and Ororo were conferring with the Professor and Scott was unloading their belongings. Logan stood by and watched as she departed the plane and headed towards her room. A thought stopped her.

It'd be their room again when Piotr was well enough to return to it. She'd have to see about changing that. Illyana would probably want to be with her brother and it would be for the better. How could he lay there and know she was across the room, knowing the pain she had caused.

Her heart was racing and her breathing was becoming rapid. She sank to the floor and drew her knees to her chest and used the exercises Professor Xavier had taught her to calm herself down. The door creaked. She didn't look up until her breathing had righted itself and the flood of panic left her.

"So, is this how it's going to be?" Logan asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Logan grunted in frustration, "Don't destroy everything he's done for you kid."

"He shouldn't have done anything for me."

"Well it's happened, nothing you can do about it. It didn't seem to bother you much before, everything he was doing for you."

Logan being right was an annoying thing, she thought.

"If he's going to be mad, then let him. But you won't know until you talk to him. If it were you lying in that bed, he'd be doing anything to be by your side. He wouldn't be hiding," and with that parting shot he left.

The door bounced when he closed it and Mia got up to shut it properly. She rested against the door for a moment and considered Logan's words. She grabbed a shower then headed down the hallway towards Rogue's room. Rogue's words were kinder, but they only echoed Logan's. "Sorry, but I gotta side with Logan on this one. If you were wantin' I'll go and check and see how things are downstairs. I haven't seen Remy anyway. I can let you know if he's up. But I think, it would make him happy to wake up and have you sittin' there."

"He might still think I'm dead. I think it's better someone tells him so I don't send him into shock."

Rogue nodded but knew it was Mia's way of pushing it off. "I'll make sure someone tells him if he's awake. After that, it's up to you."

She wandered out of Rogue's room and headed down to see the Professor. She happened to run into him in the hallway on her way to his office.

"Mia, I just returned from downstairs where I'm sure you'll be happy to know there seems to be no significant injuries to Piotr. We'll be monitoring him for a possible concussion but at this time I see no reason for worry."

"That's great professor, " but her voice betrayed her emotions.

"Come into my office, I think perhaps a discussion is in order?" he asked. She nodded and followed him in.

Within an hour she stood outside another room in a different wing of the mansion. Most of the older students, or those who could not share a room, slept in this wing. It was on the opposite side of the building from her former room. It took only a few trips to bring her belongings from the other room. It was much smaller and the bathroom was adjoined to another bedroom, but that room was unoccupied at the moment giving her privacy for now.

Illyana would want to stay with her brother, that much she was certain and the professor had agreed. That room was currently the only one available that had a bed designed to support Piotr's substantial form. It would be best if she moved out. She was thankful when he made no attempts to argue against her.

Sometime after she was settled Rogue appeared. "I went runnin' to the Professor thinkin' you'd run off. I was relieved when he told me you had just moved." Rogue looked around the room a bit, "Hopefully soon I get one of these. Roomin' with Kitty is hard work," she said with a smile.

"Did you want something?" Mia asked. She felt a bit guilty speaking to her friend that way but it was obvious she wasn't in the mood for talking.

Rogue merely brushed it off, "Remy says that Piotr woke up. But he's mainly talkin' in Russian still. They're not sure if he's heard what they've been tellin' him. They think he's in shock, once that wears off it'll be easier to talk to him."

For her part Mia just nodded.

"He said your name. A few times on the plane, Remy told me. I think it would help him to see you. If he's already in shock you won't have to worry about sending him there."

Mia contemplated that for a moment, when she wasn't quick to answer Rogue offered one final suggestion.

"If you can't find a reason to go see him then consider this. He deserves it. He deserves to know you're alive and to display whatever emotion that brings out in him, whether he's angry or happy or whatever. You owe him, he saved you whether you asked for it or not."

**Later that night…**

When the house had grown quiet and Mia hadn't heard anyone moving about for some time, she pulled herself out of bed and headed downstairs. She'd given herself more then enough time to think about it, but she wanted it to be private. This was something that was between Piotr and her.

No one was down in the med lab. Even Hank had gone to bed, she headed towards the back rooms where not long ago she had stayed. Only one room was partially lit and the door was cracked open. She looked in hesitantly until she noticed he was sleeping then slipped into the room shutting the door. His bandages had been rewrapped, his color much improved. The light beeps from the machines were the only noises beside his breathing.

It was a while before she realized she had been standing there staring at him. Part of her wanted to run away but she steeled herself and sat down in the chair, prepared to be there when he woke up. No matter his reaction he deserved the chance to express it, that's what Rogue had told her and she'd been right.

After a while she let her hands take his, her fingers moving over the lights scratches and scars. His knuckles were bruised, the purple marks previously obscured by the dirt. Eventually she found herself dozing off, she let her head rest on the bed, one hand still firmly on his.

Piotr had been aware of someone entering the room. Whoever it was hadn't moved for a while, then eventually he heard the scratch of a chair and warm hands on his. He allowed himself to drift back off but came too not long after. Through the haze of his emotions and pain he had heard the voices telling him things. _That he was okay, that Illyana was well and alive. That he was back at the mansion. Mia was alive._

The last one he hadn't believed.

But from his current position in the bed he was aware of a small hand holding his and a mop of brown hair on the bed. She wasn't facing him, but it didn't take much for him to realize who it was. He had a vague memory of seeing her ghost when he thought he was dying. He'd been content to go then, knowing she'd be there. But that warm hand and the steady breath against his arm were very much indicative of her being alive.

He stayed that way for a while not wanting to disturb her but eventually gave in and squeezed her hand, "Mia."

His voice at first was almost foreign to himself, rough from smoke. Mia stirred and woke up, sitting up straight away when she remembered why she was there.

She gave him a small smile, "I'm glad you're awake. You don't seem too startled to see me."

"I've been awake for a little while now," he got out hoarsely. She reached over to a table and poured him a cup of water. He thanked her and sipped it slowly, clearing the residue in his throat. She took it from him when he was done.

"Piotr," her throat clenched. "I'm, I'm so sorry for what happened." A few tears spilled over.

He didn't look straight at her, staring off in the distance as he recalled what happened. "There was little warning. I couldn't do anything to stop it. They were cowards, attacking people in the dark while they slept. By the time I realized what was happening they were already on us. I never even had a chance to fight them, they just attacked the house and left. I could see the fires burning in the village but I couldn't help them. Illyana was in the family room crying for our parents, but their room was unreachable. I barely remember anything else. Illyana is okay, da?"

"She's upstairs in your room sleeping, she wasn't injured. The Professor made it easier for her to sleep tonight but she'll need help to get through this. She'll be relieved to know you're okay."

Piotr sighed, "I don't know how to make her feel safe. I thought going home was best for her, but after this," he couldn't finish. Mia squeezed his hand harder.

"You'll get her through this, with everyone's help. But don't forget about yourself," she reminded him.

He smiled, "First, I would like to know how you survived. I've not heard the story."

He was fishing for a distraction but Mia gave in. She recited the story starting from her escape and finishing with her waking up in the med lab.

Piotr waited for her to finish, "I made the poor decision of not using the cell phone. I hadn't wanted to talk to anyone when I returned. I only now wish that I had. I would have come back right away."

She could see the direction his thoughts were taking, "It doesn't mean it would have stopped anything Piotr. There's no way of knowing. They could have just attacked you here, or attacked your family while you weren't there."

"I fear I will always wonder," he confessed.

"If you want to think that way, then consider if you hadn't saved me. Maybe none of this would have happened, everyone would have stayed out of danger in the first place," she said angrily. She began to pull away.

"I would never change that decision, no matter what happened. I would do it again," his voice was quiet but firm.

She brushed a few more stray tears away, "You have your thoughts, I have mine."

"There's only one enemy in all of this and that's Magneto. Not our thoughts or the what-could-have-beens." He pulled her onto the bed and she curled up along side him being careful not to upset his injuries. She was filled with relief that he didn't blame her.

They laid like that for a while before Piotr thought of something she had said. "We will have to figure out where Illyana will sleep. I hope to be back upstairs tomorrow but I worry she will want to stay with us. She was only just finally sleeping on her own at our house."

"You and Illyana will share the room until she's ready to move in with the other students. I took another room," she confessed.

"When did you do that?" he asked.

"Only today. I knew Illyana would need to be near you. It was about time I moved out of the room. It was only meant to be temporary."

"Illyana will need me, yes. But what am I going to do when I need you?" he asked quietly.

"We'll just have to focus on helping Illyana. But in the meantime I'm the third room down from Jean's," she told him smiling. He smiled in return. "Stay here tonight?" he asked her. "I'll stay until Hank kicks me out, which will probably be in a few hours."

And for a few hours they were happy, enjoying the peace and the feeling of safety being together gave them. Unaware of the dangers that would await them in the coming weeks, not knowing the final battle would be upon them sooner then they hoped.


End file.
